What Was Lost
by ElvishGrrl
Summary: An act of revenge for a horrible deed from Stefan's past leaves Damon's life hanging in the balance. Nearly everyone assumes he's dead. Will he be rescued in time and, if so, what affect will all this have on Elena's choices for her future? Spoilers up to episode 3x10.
1. Slow Poison

A/N - Any feedback you have - thoughts, suggestions or constructive criticism in the form of reviews is very welcome and requested please. Chapter 2 won't be up for another week or so, as I'm out of town for a bit, so if you like this enough to want to read more, please be patient and you'll have it on the 29th or 30th I think. Thank you!

***DISCLAIMER*** _I do **NOT** own Vampire Diaries or the characters associated with Vampire Diaries. No copyright infringement intended. _

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><p><strong>What Was Lost<strong>

**Chapter 1 – Slow Poison**

Damon Salvatore came fully awake suddenly, as vampires tend to do. He immediately realized from the intense pain that he was bound, blindfolded and gagged with vervain-soaked ropes and rags. His skin burned where they touched his bare flesh. Which was almost everywhere, as he was only wearing the black drawstring pants he slept in. Thankfully he had built up a bit of vervain tolerance over the last six months from ingesting a small amount on a regular basis, or the pain would be far worse.

He struggled hard to break free but the vervain had already weakened him, the ropes were tied tightly and he found he could barely move. Fuck! Where the hell was he anyway? He knew he was riding in a vehicle - he could feel the bounces and jolts as it drove over rough terrain and he could hear the sound of the engine. No voices, but from the slight sounds of movement he noticed when he concentrated, he could sense two presences. One heartbeat. That meant one human and presumably one vampire.

The vehicle came to an abrupt halt and within seconds Damon heard the sound of the rear doors being flung open and felt cool air rush over him. Rough, strong hands dragged him up and he was flung over a large man's broad shoulders. Damn it - if only he wasn't in such a weakened state right now! He knew his chances for a well-timed opportunity to escape were dwindling if something didn't change in his favour extremely soon.

He was carried for some distance. If he had to guess from the surrounding sounds and the feel of the uneven ground below each step the man took, he'd say he was in the forest somewhere not far from Mystic Falls. The vampire lugging him moved almost completely silently.

Damon was thrown forcefully onto the ground a few minutes later and he heard the sound of wood scraping against stone as something, presumably a door, was pulled open. OK, seriously what was going on? Who were these people, why had they taken him and why weren't they speaking?

A few seconds later he was hoisted up. His lower half was pressed against rough, cold stone and his upper half was suspended over thin air. He heard the echo of something moving below him in what could only be water. The vampire behind him, who was holding onto Damon's restraints with one hand, reached down with the other to pull off his lapis lazuli daylight ring. He groaned. This was really not good.

His captor finally decided to break the silence.

"Nothing personal. You brother ripped away my entire life when he…murdered… my Emma. You're the one he loves most so now I'm taking away his." The voice was deep, harsh and tormented. Each word carried a tinge of sadness.

Damon was abruptly released and he fell ass over teakettle into the well.

When he amazingly landed feet first in the neck-deep water that had been saturating in vervain plants for who knew how many years, he knew he was fucked. Seconds later He began to scream through the gag. Never in his entire long life had he endured such fucking excruciating pain. No matter how much vervain tolerance currently existed in his system, it was no match for this. This was all consuming. It took over all his senses. His flesh felt like it was literally burning right off his bones. His last coherent thought before he lost consciousness was of Elena's face and he wondered if he'd ever see her again.

Damon's head slipped under the water and the screaming stopped.

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><p>Stefan Salvatore was lying on his bed planning his departure from Mystic Falls. He really should have left before now. The Originals were all gone from the area, probably from the entire continent actually, and life had gotten back to relatively "normal" around town lately. Well, normal for a town that had vampires, a witch, a hybrid vampire-werewolf and a doppelganger in it, anyway. He knew that no one really expected him to stay, after everything he'd done and everyone he'd hurt along the way, but he hadn't quite been able to bring himself to leave yet.<p>

If only there was a way to convince his brother to go with him. But Stefan knew there was no way in hell that was ever going to happen. Damon was going to stay wherever Elena was, and nothing he could say or do would ever change that. The only reason Stefan was still lingering around the boarding house was because he hadn't quite been able to bring himself to leave his older brother yet. But today - today he had decided for sure. He was going to pack and he was going to tell Damon goodbye and he was going to go.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a cell phone ringing somewhere in the large house. Damon's phone. Stefan frowned. He could tell that Damon wasn't home, so why the hell was his phone here? He got up and followed the sound.

He found the phone on Damon's night table, right where he would have left it last night before sleep. It stopped ringing as he approached. "_One Missed Call_." Hmm. He quickly scrolled through to see who the call came from. Sheriff Forbes. Interesting. He had assumed it was Elena. She hadn't been over since Stefan had been living back there. He was pretty sure she had no interest in seeing him again, to tell the truth.

Suddenly he heard a knock on the front door. Stefan slipped Damon's phone in his pocket and sped downstairs, but when he wrenched open the door, there was no-one waiting. He squinted into the bright sunlight in every direction, but there was no sign of anyone. As fast as he'd gotten down there, there was no way they would be out of his line of sight already – not unless they were a vampire.

He glanced down and noticed a small box that had been left by the door. Picking it up, he inspected it. "Stefan Salvatore" was scrawled across the top. He brought it inside. As he carried it he could tell something small was rattling around in there. He stopped and ripped the box open.

Stefan froze in surprise. Damon's daylight protection ring sat inside. Underneath it was a small note.

"By the time you read this, your brother will be dead. I trust this ring is proof enough. I hope you suffer for the rest of your existence as you've ensured I will for mine."

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><p>In a vain attempt to wake herself up, Elena Gilbert poured a second cup of coffee and wrapped her fingers tightly around the hot mug. She still felt bleary-eyed and unfocused. Strangely, the lack of threats to the lives of herself and her friends over the past few weeks had not improved her ability to get a sound sleep. Her own convoluted thoughts had seen to that. She yawned and tried to decide whether anyone would notice or care if she just went back upstairs to bed.<p>

Just as she concluded that it was too tempting an idea to pass up, she heard the doorbell ring. Elena wrapped her robe tighter around herself and went to look through the peephole. It was Stefan.

She sighed and called sternly through the door, " What do you want, Stefan?"

"Elena, let me in please. I know I'm probably the last person you want to see, but I wouldn't be here if it wasn't important."

She sighed again, "What is it this time? Where's Damon?"

Stefan sounded a bit more urgent, "That's what I need to speak with you about. Please let me in, Elena."

Something about his tone started an inkling of fear in the pit of her stomach and she pulled the door open. Stefan pushed past her and walked into the kitchen.

"You'd better sit down."

Now she knew for sure that something was wrong. His face looked stressed and it was obvious that he was barely keeping himself together. Uh oh. Where _was_ Damon, anyway?

Elena slid into the nearest chair, "Out with it, Stefan. What's going on?"

He pulled Damon's daylight ring and the note out of his jacket and handed them both to her.

"I found these on my doorstep this morning. I thought you should know."

Elena read the note over and looked up at him with fear and confusion in her eyes.

She hesitated before she spoke, her words slightly unsteady. "Who sent this? Do you believe it? Why would they want you to suffer?" She feared she might already know the answer to that last question.

Stefan tried to keep his voice stoic, "I have no idea who sent it. I do know that's Damon's ring. As you can see, it's a beautiful sunny morning." He gestured towards the front window. "So…do I believe it? I think it's entirely possible, yes."

He paused for a moment. "Why do they want me to suffer? I'd think that would be obvious, Elena. It's an act of revenge. But Damon is nothing if not self-preserving and he's always been one step ahead of any potential threats in the past. It seems he must have been off his game last night."

Elena gaped at him, "This…is because of you? Because of something you did?" Her voice was rising along with her anger.

"He isn't exactly a saint, Elena, as you are well aware. This could have easily been reversed. Go ahead and yell at me if it makes you feel better, but blaming me for this doesn't change anything."

She glared daggers at him, but was silent. Her thoughts swirled in her head. Thoughts she couldn't share with Stefan. Thoughts about the conversation she'd had with Damon last night which undoubtedly had led to his being distracted later and, as Stefan put it, 'off his game". Thoughts like Damon couldn't possibly be dead, because she hadn't had a chance to explain herself yet.

_Oh God, oh God, oh God_. He couldn't possibly be dead…could he?


	2. Shake It Out

A/N OK, I decided to give you guys a bit more and get Ch 2 up earlier than planned. But, unfortunately, Ch 3 won't be going up until Jan 29th or 30th. Sorry! Hope you like this one. Would love to hear your thoughts, please!

**Chapter 2 – Shake It Out**

Elena glanced up as Alaric walked in the front door. He looked from their faces to Damon's ring on the table and back to Elena's face again. She could tell he understood immediately that something was very wrong.

Quickly Stefan explained what he'd found that morning, from Damon's abandoned cell phone to the contents of the box that was left at his door. Apparently Damon's bed was unmade, but otherwise his room didn't look like the scene of a struggle. A messy bed and a forgotten cell phone were definitely not normal for Damon, though.

Elena interrupted Alaric's questioning. "Enough discussion. Time may be running out. I'll call Bonnie. She can use Stefan's blood to do a locator spell so we can find him."

Stefan just looked at her. "No. He's my brother. Let me do this. As you so recently pointed out, this happened because of me. I'll look for him. Bonnie wouldn't help anyway – she hates us."

"She doesn't hate y…" Elena trailed off. "She'll help if I ask her."

"Not an option. I'll see what I can find out," Stefan shut her down. "Don't get your hopes up, Elena. Chances are, it's already over."

He seemed resigned to Damon's already being dead. Alaric just looked at her sympathetically. What was _wrong_ with them?

Elena didn't think she could stay in the kitchen with them a minute longer and excused herself to her room. She could sense the beginning of panic rising, but she pushed it back down. She wasn't going to allow herself to feel any emotion but anger right now, and Stefan's passive attitude was just making her angrier. This _was_ all his fault, damn it!

A little voice in the back of her head whispered that it was partially her fault, too.

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><p>Elena decided to have a shower to clear her head a bit. While enjoying the sharp spray beating down on her back, she started thinking. She remembered how she had been feeling a few weeks ago after they had finally succeeded in getting all the remaining Originals out of town and a modicum of safety had been restored to Mystic Falls.<p>

She had been completely wiped out. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Not surprising of course, anyone would have expected that. But she had come to the rapid conclusion that she needed space and time to recoup and reexamine what she wanted going forward - and that space and time needed to be Salvatore-free.

Elena knew that Stefan was no longer the man she used to love. After all the despicable things he'd done over the past few months, after all the horrible things he'd said and done to _her_ specifically, she knew she didn't want him to be an important part of her life anymore. Of that, she was finally certain.

Then there was Damon. Elena was positive that there was no one on the entire planet that left her feeling as overwhelmed and emotionally confused as Damon Salvatore did lately. Somehow he had come full circle from originally being someone she didn't even really like or trust - someone she had tried with everything in her to hate actually - to becoming the one person she could rely on to always be there for her, no matter what. He had evolved into the person that she trusted most in the world. Now Damon was probably her best friend. Who could have ever seen that happening? And he loved her with such an unrivalled fierceness that she felt completely disoriented whenever she saw evidence of it.

Like the time a few months ago when he'd swallowed his guilt over Elena being his brother's ex-girlfriend and finally succumbed to his desire to kiss her. Such a simple kiss, but it had left her breathless and, if she was being honest, wanting more. Of course Elena had fought those feelings. Later that night, even with all the other upsetting things going on around her that demanded her attention, all she could think about was Damon - of the incredible feeling of his lips on hers and what it had done to her inside. She was annoyed with herself for how her body had betrayed her when she had kissed him back. It had been all she could do to restrain herself from threading her fingers into his hair, pulling him against her, deepening the kiss and allowing herself get lost in the moment.

The following night she'd told him that he couldn't kiss her again, that it wasn't right. She was beyond stressed that evening and it had been self-preservation at its finest. But secretly the truth was that, at that moment, she really did want him to kiss her. Instead, he'd agreed with her and she was surprised at the disappointment she'd felt. He'd said it was indeed right, just not right now and then he had walked away.

Elena had no idea if that was true or not, but she was sure at the time that she just couldn't handle processing her complex feelings about Damon. She'd needed to focus everything on the problems at hand and get past those first.

So, when it all was finally over, for now at least, Elena's reaction had been to just hide. She had told Ric the next day as he was heading off to the Grill for lunch, that if he ran into anyone named Salvatore he was to tell them that she didn't want to be contacted for a while. That she wanted some time and space and she needed them to respect that. Ric had just nodded. She knew he agreed it was for the best.

Surprisingly, Damon _had_ respected her request and had not tried to contact her. Never the less, a part of Elena had kept expecting that he would just show up in her bedroom one night. He hadn't - for two weeks anyway.

Until last night.

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><p>The first thing Elena did after getting dressed was to call Bonnie. Bonnie Bennett had been one of her best friends since childhood, and she was a witch. Fifteen minutes later Elena was sitting on her couch explaining what had happened. It was obvious from the expressions that flew across her face as she spoke that Bonnie was sympathetic to her friend. She was aware that Elena had complicated feelings towards Damon, even if she, herself, wasn't convinced it was that great a loss.<p>

Just as Elena expected, Bonnie couldn't do a locator spell on Damon without a drop of family blood, which meant Stefan. And Stefan didn't seem too willing to cooperate. Elena was starting to feel desperate as she begged Bonnie to please try to find another way. They both began poring over spell books and grimoires looking for anything that might help.

Eventually, Bonnie found something that made her pause.

"I don't know if this will work, 'Lena, but it could be worth a shot."

"What do we need to do?"

"You'll have to get me a personal item of Damon's. Something that was important to him. The more sentimental it was, the better connection we may get. _If_ this spell even works, which I'm not guaranteeing. "

Elena couldn't help but notice that Bonnie just referred to Damon in the past tense.

"You think he's dead, don't you?" she whispered.

Bonnie looked away, "I don't know Elena. You have to admit it's pretty likely. But I'll try the spell if it will make you feel better."

Elena bit her tongue over the retort that came to her was everyone just accepting he was dead without question? Instead she said evenly, "I'll go get something of his to use. Then you do the spell and we'll see what happens."

She paused on her way out the door and glanced back. "Thank you, Bonnie."

Bonnie just nodded somberly at her.

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><p>There was no answer to her knock at the boarding house, so Elena let herself in. After checking around to ensure Stefan wasn't home, she headed straight up to Damon's bedroom.<p>

Just as Stefan had told Alaric, there was no sign of a struggle. The bed was unmade, but otherwise it looked as perfect as it always had.

She went right to Damon's gigantic wardrobe and pulled both doors wide open. She felt a pang in her chest as the light smell of his cologne hit her and she inhaled deeply at the familiar scent.

Elena pushed through the top shelf looking for anything hidden beyond his folded sweaters. She looked behind the hanging clothes. She dug through the drawers. He was not much of a pack-rat and she found only the clothing and accessories she expected to be there.

There were shoeboxes neatly stacked along the floor of the wardrobe and she carefully opened each one to check the contents. Hope flared as she opened the bottom left box – it did not contain shoes. Elena pulled it out and sat back on the floor with it in her lap.

What she found inside surprised and touched her. Every little note she had ever written to him, most of which were about leads on Stefan's whereabouts over the past summer, had been kept. Every "dropped by but you were out", every "had to take off, see you later" was there. There was an elastic from one of her ponytails. It still had a few strands of her hair caught in it. _Please, don't let there be a pair of my underwear underneath._ No, not underwear thank God, just a couple of photos. One was of the two of them dancing at the Miss Mystic Falls ceremony. It now seemed like almost a lifetime ago. The other was a candid of her, looking away from the camera and laughing. She had no idea who had taken this one or when it had occurred. She looked really happy though. _How long has it been since I've felt that happy?_

A wave of sadness overwhelmed her suddenly. Elena squeezed her eyes shut and fought to hold back the tears that threatened. She put the lid back on the shoebox and held it tightly against her chest. _Damn it, Damon, where are you?_

Elena had no idea how long she sat like that on his floor, clutching the box and battling with her emotions. When she opened her eyes she realized it was dark outside. She still needed to find a personal item for the spell.

She moved towards the closest bedside table. Only books were stacked underneath. She examined the titles. Apparently Damon had a taste for classic literature. Who would have guessed? None of these books seemed old or sentimental enough to choose.

Leaving the shoebox on that table, she slid across his bed to look at the other one. This night table had a drawer. Elena pulled it roughly open and rifled through it. It contained mostly odds and ends. A pair of handcuffs, some black silk scarves. A tube or two that she didn't really want to look too closely at. She rolled her eyes. Hmm. _There_. A small brown velvet box was tucked into the very back. The velvet was worn and it definitely looked very old. Inside was nestled an antique silver pocket watch. She ran her fingers over the scrollwork on the front and flipped it over. The back was engraved with a difficult to read inscription. She rubbed her thumb over the scripted letters and could just make it out. "To My Damon on your 10th birthday. Love, Mother." _Jackpot_. Elena tucked it back inside and put the velvet box next to the shoebox she had set down earlier.

As she stood up, she happened to glance into the far corner near the bathroom and noticed his laundry pile. Before she could second guess what she was doing, she had walked over and pulled out a deep blue button-up shirt. She held it up to her face and inhaled. It smelled of cologne, bourbon, and leather – a combination of scents that was intrinsically Damon. She slipped it on over her own t-shirt. For a minute she closed her eyes and tried to imagine that he was holding her.

This time Elena couldn't contain the flood of emotion that overtook her. She crawled onto the bed and pulled his blankets over her so that she was completely immersed in his scent. She gave in to the tears that she had been repressing for so long and soon fell into a fitful sleep curled up in his bed.


	3. Close To Me

**A/N **So sorry for the delay, this took a few days longer than anticipated to get updated. Hope you like it! It's very Elena-centric here but the next chapter has much more character and story development in it and way less Elena. I needed to tell you the back-story a bit more here first, though. Please let me know what you think! **  
><strong>

**Chapter 3 – Close To Me**

Elena woke up in the very early hours of the morning. For a few seconds she was completely disoriented, but she quickly remembered she was in Damon's bed. The boarding house was totally silent. She briefly wondered if Stefan had come back yet. Deciding it was way too early to bring the pocket watch to Bonnie and since right now she would much rather be here than at home, she rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

Her thoughts kept returning to the last conversation they'd had.

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><p><em>Two Days Ago<em>

Elena went up to her room to get ready for bed, a hot shower and getting in a chapter of her latest novel the only things on her mind. She froze in her door-frame when she realized that Damon was sitting on her window-seat. His face was turned away from her as he gazed out her window. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him.

She wanted to be annoyed with him, to ask him what he was doing here, but all she could manage was, "Damon."

He turned toward her and stood up a tad unsteadily. _Oh great, he's drunk_. _Not good._

Softly he spoke, "I know you wanted me to give you space. And I have - I've stayed away from you for weeks now. But I just needed to see you, to know that you're OK."

He moved nearer and she could feel his intense gaze burn into her. Rational thought usually left her head when he looked at her like that.

Unconsciously she took a step closer to him. Honestly, she'd been missing him like crazy. But she'd needed some time to sort though all her complex feelings. She _still_ wasn't completely certain what she wanted.

"You know, most people just drunk-dial or drunk-text - how come with you it's always drunk-show-up-in-my-room?" She attempted a bit of levity.

He didn't reply, but didn't break eye contact, either.

She sighed, "I'm fine, Damon. Really."

"Then why?"

Elena thought she could detect an edge of pain in his voice.

In a softer tone she replied, "I just need some time. To think some things out. After everything that's happened, I need to figure out who I am now and what I really want."

"You mean you need to figure out how you feel about me and if you want to be with me or not?" Damon was blunt.

She gave a small nod, "That, too."

"You _know_ I would've respected your request if you'd asked me. Why did you send Ric to do your dirty work for you? That hurt like hell, Elena. That you didn't even have the balls to tell me yourself."

"I know. You deserved better. I'm sorry," she took another step closer.

She dropped her gaze from his eyes to his lips and then back. Unconsciously her heartbeat sped up, her own lips parted and her eyelids grew heavy. He always had this affect on her body.

In a millisecond he had closed the small distance between them and his hands were on the sides of her face. She hated it when he touched her like that. She loved it when he touched her like that. Elena couldn't breath. She couldn't think. She was drowning in his clear blue eyes. Again.

Her senses filled with the incredible scent of Damon – an exotic blend of expensive bourbon, expensive cologne and expensive leather. It was the most intoxicating aroma she'd ever smelled, better than a hot cup of coffee on a dreary morning. She couldn't get enough of it.

His face was so close, his gaze so intense. All she wanted in that moment was for him to kiss her again. Why wasn't he kissing her?

And then he was.

This time Elena responded with an intensity that surprised both of them. Her fingers raked through his hair and held his head against hers, as if there was any chance he'd try to escape. For a minute, just a minute, she turned off her rational mind and just let herself escape into his kiss and into his arms.

The annoyingly logical voice in her head didn't let her enjoy that bliss for long though. Damon frowned as she extricated herself from his embrace and moved to the other side of the bed, putting some space between them so she could gather her thoughts enough to speak.

"I can't think straight when you're near me," she confessed softly.

"And that's a bad thing?" Damon looked confused.

"Yes, Damon. I _need_ to be able to think. So that I can try to explain."

He sat down on the end of her bed, swiveled his body toward her and looked at her expectantly.

"I've spent the past two weeks going over and over how I feel. How you make me feel," Elena admitted. "But mostly I've been trying to figure out what I want. It's better for both of us that I do this now – come to terms with what's best for me now – than if I just start something with you impulsively and end up deciding later it's not right for me. Surely you understand that?"

Damon simply nodded.

She attempted to explain further. She needed him to understand why.

"I'm only eighteen and, being overly optimistic for a moment, I have my whole life still ahead of me. I want to go to college and have a career. At some point I assume I'll want to get married and have children. Make my parents proud, you know? Have the life they always dreamed of for me. I want to grow old and spoil my grandkids and retire in Florida someday.

Remember that night in Georgia, when I convinced Lexie's boyfriend not to kill you? She had told me that she was in love with a human, but that night he was clearly a vampire. He let her turn him. He said to me, 'If you wanna be with someone forever, you have to live forever.'

But I don't, Damon. I don't want to be turned. I don't want to live forever."

"I know, Elena," he replied.

"What about when I'm old and you still look …?" she gestured towards him, "Maybe you could still love me, but would you still want to kiss me? Be with me? The whole thing doesn't make sense – can't make sense. I was naïve when I let myself fall in love with Stefan.

I just can't see anything long-term between us. I'm sorry, but I can't see a future with you. There are a million reasons why we can't be together, Damon," Elena finished sadly. She really didn't want to hurt him more.

In a second he was in front of her again. He held her gaze and spoke softly, "To be with me, all you need is one."

His intense stare felt like it was penetrating her soul, like he was searching for something inside of her that she hadn't found herself yet. He was close enough to make her heart speed up once more. If she wasn't sure he wouldn't, she'd think he was trying to compel her.

"I told you that I'd never leave you, but if this is what you want, then you need to let me go."

Elena drew in a breath, "Please Damon, I just need a little more time."

He walked over to the window seat, paused and looked back at her, "He doesn't know that I know it, but Stefan is going to be leaving soon. And he's going to ask me to go with him, but he assumes I'll say no. I'll stay until he asks me. Only until then. After that, I won't be back."

She got a sharp pain in her chest at the thought of his leaving forever. Even if it might be for the best.

Elena spoke over a huge lump in her throat, "Please promise me you won't go without saying goodbye? Promise me, Damon?"

He hesitated, and looked out the window. Finally he glanced back at her and sighed, "Promise."

She blinked and in that split second he was gone.

* * *

><p>Elena grimaced. Some of this was definitely her fault. Stefan had said Damon had to have been distracted that night, or whoever it was wouldn't have been able to take him without a fight. <em>Of course<em> he was distracted! She had messed things up big time by confessing her thought process out loud to him, instead of waiting until she was completely sure. _What_ had she been thinking? She hadn't been, obviously.

It was high time for her to get that silver pocket watch over to Bonnie so that they could find him. When she saw him again, she would make things right.

Elena stretched and left the comfort of his warm bed. Reluctantly she removed Damon's shirt and put it back in the laundry hamper. When he got home she was sure he wouldn't be pleased if he discovered it was missing. She replaced the shoebox of mementos back into the wardrobe. Reconsidering, she pulled it out again and retrieved the photo of she and Damon dancing. Elena didn't have any pictures of the two of them. She told herself she would just make a copy and put it right back where she had found it.

As she passed through the study on the way down to the front hallway of the boarding house, Elena noticed his leather jacket draped over the back of an armchair. _When I find him, he'll be needing that._ Confident in her reasoning, she slipped it on and, surrounded by Damon's familiar scent once again, she headed for her car.

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><p>Twenty minutes later Elena was sitting quietly in Bonnie's bedroom intently watching the proceedings. Spread out on the floor in front of Bonnie was a map of Mystic Falls and the surrounding area. A lit circle of candles surrounded both she and the map. There was a silver needle resting over the spot where the boarding house was located. Damon's antique pocket watch was clutched tightly in Bonnie's right hand and she was chanting in Latin with her eyes closed.<p>

Elena knew she was trying to channel Damon's energy through the watch. Suddenly Bonnie's eyes flew open and she stared intently at the needle. Elena held her breath and waited.

Nothing happened.

Bonnie broke concentration after a few minutes and met Elena's eyes.

"It's not working. I'll try again," she offered.

Elena nodded nervously.

Bonnie did the spell a second time. When she opened her eyes and focused on the needle this time the flames flickered twice and went out. Elena leaned forward to get a closer look.

Once again, the needle didn't move.

A pause, "I'm sorry, Elena."

"I don't understand. It didn't work again?"

Bonnie glanced up at her, "It worked."

"But nothing happened?" Elena was confused.

"Nothing happened because there was nothing to find, Elena. I'm so sorry, hon. He's gone." She spoke gently and sounded genuinely sympathetic.

"That can't be right. Please Bon, try it again." Her words quivered a little.

"I don't need to." Bonnie put her hand on Elena's shoulder and looked at her carefully. "Are you OK?"

"You've got to try it again! Please?" Elena's throat constricted. _He can't be gone_. _It's simply not possible._

Bonnie just looked at her friend, and tried to hug her. Elena was having none of it. She pulled away, grabbed Damon's pocket watch and ran for the door.


	4. Far Away, So Close

**A/N **_This chapter does a bit more character development and is far less Elena-centric. Don't worry, Ch 5 will deal with Damon's situation which I know has been driving many of you crazy that he's been in limbo. Please review and let me know what you think. Feedback is so very much appreciated!**  
><strong>_

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 – Far Away, So Close<strong>

_Five Days Later_

Stefan woke up late. He seemed to be waking up later and later these days. He stretched his arms over his head and contemplated going downstairs for a cup of coffee. Or some AB positive. Or both.

He paused and listened for a moment. She was in the study. Good, that meant he could avoid her on his way to the kitchen. She was always here these days. Occasionally she went out for a while, presumably to go to school or to retrieve something from her house. Otherwise Elena spent all her time either in Damon's bedroom or in the study. Which, really, if you thought about it, was Damon's room as well.

Sometimes he heard her talking to herself, although he tried not to listen too carefully. Sometimes he heard outbursts of anger. Sometimes he heard her crying softly. He rarely attempted to talk to her. He knew that he was one of the last people she wanted to speak with right now.

He padded down to the kitchen and made himself a mug of coffee. He was in the mood for something hot this morning. Or was it afternoon? He wasn't entirely sure. Nor did he really care.

Stefan had found out the sum total of absolutely nothing in his search so far for leads on what had befallen his brother. He had grilled (and occasionally tortured) most of his contacts, although that list wasn't long. He had searched everywhere he could think of. Lately he had taken to spending his spare time wandering the area around the ruins of the old Salvatore mansion, where he and Damon had grown up. He felt more relaxed there, which was something he no longer felt at the boarding house. With Elena there all the time lately, he tried to just return when he needed something or wanted to sleep in his own bed.

There was one contact left that Stefan had so far been trying to avoid. But he was out of viable options and he needed to know, perhaps even more so than Elena, what had really happened to Damon.

He gritted his teeth and pulled out his phone. It was time to call Katherine.

* * *

><p>Sitting in rush hour traffic in the Charleston heat was not Katherine's idea of a good time. She turned up the music and tried to ignore the foul odours of exhaust and sweat and stale perfume that her enhanced sense of smell detected from the vehicles all around her. She even briefly considered ditching the baby blue classic MG convertible that she was driving and just zipping the hell out of there, but, well, she really loved this car. She knew damn well she looked amazing driving it with the top down, her white scarf tied around her long chestnut curls and her fat tortoise-shell sunglasses shielding her eyes. Very "nouveau old-Hollywood chic". James Dean would have approved. Actually, if she recalled correctly, he had.<p>

She was inspecting her lip gloss in the rear view mirror for the third time in as many minutes, when her phone rang. Katherine checked the caller ID. Stefan. _Interesting_.

"Hello, Stefan. Miss me already?" she drawled, delighted by the distraction.

"Hello, Katherine. I was wondering if you'd heard anything from or about Damon recently?" Stefan decided to get straight to the point. The shorter this conversation, the better.

"Damon? No. Why? Did you lose him? Have you checked in Elena's bed?" She smirked to herself. She loved to try to get under his skin. It was often so easy.

Stefan sighed. He was going to have to tell her. In as few words as possible he outlined what had happened to Damon, at least as far as he knew.

"I haven't heard anything, Stefan. Would you like my help to find him? I'd love to play detective with you."

He was blunt. "I need to know if he's really dead. Can you help me or not?"

"I'll be there by tonight. See you later, my love." She ended the call and tossed her phone on the seat beside her. This day was definitely looking up already.

* * *

><p>It was already dark by the time she pulled up in front of the Salvatore boarding house.<p>

Was that a faint flutter of butterflies in the pit of her stomach at the thought of seeing him? Most definitely not. Katherine Pierce did _not_ get anxious about anything.

She flipped down the sun visor mirror to check out her reflection then turned to open the door. Stefan was already standing beside the car looking expectantly at her.

"Were you waiting for me, Stefan? How sweet."

"Katherine." He grabbed her arm as she turned towards the front door. "You can't go inside. Elena's in there."

She lifted one eyebrow towards him, "Why would Elena being here prevent me from going in?"

"She's been…upset… since it happened. I've been trying to give her as much space as possible. I don't think her seeing you would do her any favours right now."

Katherine frowned, "I see." And then more suggestively, "I was really hoping I could borrow your shower after spending all day in the car."

Stefan ignored her, "Get into my car. I'll drive."

"Still trying to keep that switch turned off, huh?" She slid into the passenger seat of his red Porsche. "So, where are we going?"

"I'll figure it out on the way."

She let him drive in silence for a few minutes.

"I spent some time making a few phone calls during my long drive back to Mystic Falls today. Do you want to know what I found out?"

"Do tell, Katherine. You're going to anyway." He kept his eyes on the road.

"I learned that a certain vampire has been making inquires about the Salvatore boys over the past few decades. I've never met him. Apparently he's around 300 years old. Name of Wheeler. Ring any bells?"

"Nope." He popped the "p" at her, just as Damon had the annoying habit of doing.

She ignored his attitude. "Do you remember being in Atlantic City in the mid-seventies? Specifically in 1976?"

Stefan glanced over at her, his face betraying no emotion. "I was there, yes. Do I remember it? No, not really. There were…there were a few months that year that I've kind of blocked out."

"Well, apparently you had descended back into full Ripper mode during that time. From what I was told, Wheeler's lover was a human and you raped her, drained her and tore her apart."

Stefan was quiet for a bit.

"Damon was in California and Lexie had left me to go to New York City with Lee. I felt like a third wheel being around them while they made lovey-eyes at each other, so I decided to stay in Atlantic City for a while. Too much drinking and partying and before long I was back on human blood again. I don't recall much about the summer of '76. I don't remember Wheeler, or the girl. But it's probably true." His grip on the steering wheel tightened.

"He's been tracking me since 1976?"

"He's been tracking you _both_ since 1976," she clarified.

"Waiting for the right moment to exact his revenge. And at some point he decided that the best revenge would be to take Damon." Stefan ran the fingers of one hand over his eyes.

"If you love others, it leaves you vulnerable, Stefan. It probably didn't take him long to figure out your weakness."

He looked at her again. "You're one to talk, Katherine."

"I know. Which is exactly why I've been keeping an eye on you for the past 146 years."

Stefan suddenly turned the car around and heading back towards Mystic Falls.

"Now where are we going?" she wondered.

"We need to go see Alaric. There's one thing left I haven't tried yet, but I won't be able to without his help."

* * *

><p>Elena was sitting on the couch in the study of the boarding house, attempting to write a poem for her senior English Lit class. For the first time in a while, she was actually able to concentrate on the task at hand.<p>

She was wearing one of Damon's soft t-shirts, with one of Damon's button-up shirts open over top. Her lower body was wrapped in the top blanket from Damon's bed. As had become her ritual lately, she was surrounding herself in his scent. It seemed like it was the only way to get her mind to relax anymore.

Elena shivered and pulled the comforter even closer around her. Even though the temperature was quite warm outside, it was always cool inside the dark boarding house. Cold, even. She wished she knew how to light the fire, but that presumably simple skill had never been shown to her. She certainly wasn't about to ask Stefan to do it for her, either.

Speaking of Stefan, she hadn't heard any sign of his presence in the house today. But she knew he mostly avoided her now, and she was quite okay with that. The second day she had spent here he had shown up in the doorway of Damon's bedroom and asked her if he could take away the dirty linens. The sheer ferocity of her denial had shocked both of them. Didn't he understand? Hadn't he taken enough from her already? There was no way he was going to take away the remains of Damon's scent, too. She would not let that happen. She would not allow Stefan to take anything from her ever again.

* * *

><p>To say that Alaric was surprised to find Stefan and Katherine together at his door that evening was a grand understatement. He knew Katherine had already been invited in some time ago, so he moved aside and let them into the kitchen. He assumed whatever they wanted with him was about Damon.<p>

He sat down and looked at Stefan, waiting for him to clarify why they were there.

Stefan began by explaining what Katherine had found out that afternoon. He told Alaric the unpleasant back-story without sounding guilty or repentant - he just stated the facts.

"I need you to speak to Bonnie for me. I want her to do a locator spell. She'll be much more likely to be receptive to the idea coming from you, than from me."

Alaric couldn't hide his irritation, "Why now, Stefan? We should have gone to her right from the start!"

"I didn't trust her. I still don't trust her to not give me false information. She doesn't want Damon back. But she's my last best hope at this point and I need an answer."

"Why don't you ask Elena to go to her for you?" Alaric wondered.

Stefan just looked at him, "You 're aware of her state of mind these days, aren't you? I've been staying out of her way as much as possible and I'd prefer to keep it that way for now. Until we know for sure about Damon, anyway."

Katherine had been sitting unusually silent during this whole exchange. Alaric turned his head toward her.

"Couldn't you just pretend to be Elena again? I've heard your performance is Oscar-worthy," he noted dryly.

Stefan shook his head, "No. If Bonnie so much as brushed against her arm, she'd know the truth and then she'd never help us. And I'd have to find myself another witch. And that would delay things even more. Will you talk to her for me or not?"

Alaric looked him in the eye. He sighed. Honestly, he wanted to know the truth about Damon as much as they did. "Fine. Let's go now before I change my mind. You two can wait in the car."

* * *

><p>Bonnie listened as Alaric explained what Stefan wanted her to do. She told him about the other spell that she had already performed a few days earlier for Elena, and how the results didn't look too good for Damon.<p>

"Have you spoken to Elena lately, Bonnie?" he questioned.

Bonnie shook her head.

"As you might guess, she's not doing too well. Don't you think she deserves to have some real closure?" he asked her gently. "This not knowing for sure is driving her crazy. Damon may not be your favourite person, but if he's still alive, don't you think we owe it to her to try to help him. And if he's not, we need to know. Elena needs to know it. Stefan needs to know it." _And I need to know it, too._

She nodded, "Yes. You're right. I won't ask Stefan and Katherine in though. Tell them to meet us out back. There's a patio table and chairs and we can set up there. You can help me bring the items out that I'll need."

Alaric went outside to tell the two vampires waiting in the car, while Bonnie went to her bedroom to gather up candles, the map of Mystic Falls, the silver needle and one of her spell books.

Ten minutes later she was holding Stefan's fingers in hers over the table. Without warning she jabbed the needle into the pad of his index finger and squeezed out blood until a drop fell onto the map over the place where the boarding house was located.

"Ouch! Bonnie - so rough!" he leered.

"Shut up, Stefan. No talking from any of you until this is done." The edge in her voice was obvious.

She closed her eyes and began chanting in Latin. She focused all her energy on that small drop of Salvatore blood. She heard Ric draw in a breath suddenly and she knew the drop was moving.

A tiny wave of hope passed through her.

When Bonnie finishing her incantations she opened her eyes. The blood droplet had stopped on the Lockwood property. It looked to be deep in the woods somewhere.

Stefan spoke up, "Shit. I know exactly where he is."


	5. Worth Saving

A/N Thanks so much for all your kind words - every review I read brightens my day that much more! I appreciate any and all feedback, so please consider leaving a review. Thank you for taking the time to read my stories. Every new chapter I publish makes me nervous, so I really hope you like it. :)**  
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**Chapter 5 - Worth Saving**

Alaric, Bonnie and Katherine stared at him, waiting for Stefan to enlighten them.

He was already getting up and moving toward the side of the house, "I'll explain in the car on the way. We'll need to make a stop at the boarding house to get some blood, just in case." Stefan's meaning was obvious.

Bonnie opted not to accompany them on their rescue mission, so the three climbed back into Stefan's car and raced off. She wasn't too worried. Although she hadn't said it out loud, she knew that the blood droplet moving at all meant there was still a chance to save Damon before it was too late. For Elena's sake, she prayed they would succeed.

* * *

><p>Elena heard her phone buzzing and sleepily grabbed it off the coffee table. She had been dozing under her History textbook on the couch in the study.<p>

It was Bonnie, who quickly explained what had just gone down at her house. Bonnie felt strongly that Elena was entitled to know what was going on, even if Stefan didn't want her involved. She told her that from the look of where the blood stopped on the map, Damon could be in the area of the old Lockwood well, from which the three girls had rescued Stefan about a year ago. Though she was freaking out inside at the idea of him possibly being at the bottom of that horrible well, Elena thanked her friend gratefully, hung up, and immediately called Caroline.

"Care, I'm calling in a huge friend favour from you. I need your help, like, now! Meet me in front of the boarding house as soon as you can get over here, OK?"

Caroline Forbes knew all about the urgency of a friend favour, having called in a few herself in the past, and she couldn't complain about dropping everything and rushing to Elena's assistance. Plus, she was kind of proud that she was now someone people called on when they needed help. Sometimes being a vampire was a little like being a super hero!

Elena explained to her where she suspected Damon was, "Can you possibly bring some bungee cord and ropes? And bags of blood, if you have any to spare?"

Caroline pulled up in front of the boarding house about five minutes later. Elena was impressed with how quickly she had arrived - Care was so much faster with everything since she'd turned. So much more reliable too, come to think of it. Elena was waiting for her friend out front with two bags of blood liberated from the Salvatore's freezer, a large flashlight and some towels. She quickly jumped into the car and they sped off to discover Damon's fate.

* * *

><p>About two minutes after Caroline's car disappeared around the corner, Stefan pulled up in front of the boarding house. He jumped out of the sportscar the moment he put it in park.<p>

He turned to the other two and commanded, "Katherine, wait here. Ric, go into the kitchen and grab any bottled water you find in the fridge. I'll get some bags of blood and meet you back here. If you see Elena, just make up something. I don't want her to know what we're doing until we have Damon. No need to get her hopes up now, in case the news ends up being bad."

Katherine waited until they were both inside, then she slipped in silently behind them and followed Stefan downstairs.

She found him pulling some blood bags out of the freezer, and interrupted with her hand on his arm.

"I told you to stay in the car!" he whispered with a glare.

As usual, Katherine didn't beat around the bush, "Stefan, why am I still here? I got you the information you wanted about who was behind it. What more do you need from me?"

He paused and furrowed his brow, "You're older and stronger than me. Let's just say you're my back-up if I need one."

"Yes, but that's not why you want me around right now. Tell me, Stefan, why am I here?" she pressed.

He looked away, "Now is not the time for this, Katherine. We have to go!"

"Tell me," She put her hand on his cheek and moved his face so that he was forced to look directly into her eyes.

Stefan sighed, "Fine. If it will make you drop it. I…" he hesitated but didn't lower his gaze this time. "I think clearer when I'm around you. You have this weird calming effect on me. And I need that to find Damon. I need you here, OK? Happy now?"

She smiled her lazy smile and nodded. Satisfied, she vanished back to the car.

* * *

><p>Alaric only found two bottles of water in the fridge, but he figured they'd have to do. He hadn't heard any sounds from upstairs and luckily Elena didn't come down to see who was here. He had been dreading the thought of having to lie to her about this.<p>

When he got back to Stefan's car, the two vampires were already waiting. On the back seat beside him he found a box containing three hospital-issue blood bags, a coil of rope and a pair of heavy-duty gardening gloves. He added in the water bottles.

"One more brief stop. We'll need to switch to your SUV, Ric. My Porsche is not very practical for our little rescue mission."

Stefan was right, so Alaric didn't argue. He just wanted this night to be over and for Damon to be found. Hopefully found alive, but found either way. Neither Elena nor Stefan could really move on until they were certain of Damon's fate. To tell the truth, he couldn't either.

* * *

><p>Caroline and Elena abandoned the car at the side of the nearest road and, supplies in hand, dashed off into the darkened Lockwood forest. Elena was grateful for Caroline's enhanced vampire vision and dexterity as she helped her friend navigate the undergrowth using only the wavering beam of the flashlight. Before long the girls had found the old well.<p>

Without hesitation, Caroline pushed off the ancient wooden well-cover and peered down inside. Elena handed her the light.

"Do you see him, Care?" she leaned over to get a better look herself.

"Yes, I think so," she paused, "Elena, you do know how awful this will be, right? Remember Stefan? He was only down there for about twenty minutes. Damon's been missing for almost a week. For sure it's gonna be ugly and no matter what we do at this point, there might not be a happy ending. Are you prepared for that?" She looked into her friend's face with compassion.

"I know, " Elena replied softly. Right now she still had a reason to hope and she was going to cling to that hope until it was ripped mercilessly away from her.

Suddenly the vampire tilted her head and pressed her finger to her lips. "Ssssh…" She stepped in front of Elena and stared intently back towards the road.

"Someone's coming."

* * *

><p>Even though Alaric's SUV had four-wheel drive, they could only go so far before they had to give up driving and walk the rest of the way into the woods. Stefan and Katherine were obviously impatient with him lagging behind them at his human speed. Luckily he'd kept a high-powered flashlight in his vehicle, so he had some visibility.<p>

When they got a little deeper in, the vampires stopped suddenly. Stefan tilted his head to one side and listened.

'Dammit, Bonnie!" he growled low to himself. He turned to Alaric, "Elena and Caroline are already there. C'mon!"

The three of them met up with the girls two minutes later. Stefan glowered at both of them and Elena glared daggers right back at him.

"Guys," Caroline spoke up, glancing between the two of them, "he's down there - I saw him. You can bitch at each other later. Let's just focus on getting Damon out now." She started tying bungee cable to a nearby tree and attaching the thick rope to it, making an adjustable noose at one end. The irony of that was not lost on the others.

Stefan turned away from them and peered down into the hole. He reached a hand behind him, "Flashlight?"

There was a pause while he directed the beam, then Stefan's lips set into a grim line, "Yep, he's in there."

"Is he alive?" Alaric asked.

"Can't tell. He's face down in the water. Ric...you know you have to be the one to go down and get him, right?"

Alaric cleared his throat nervously and nodded. He knew that the vampires would burn and weaken if they touched the vervain-saturated water, but he was _not_ looking forward to this one bit. He had acute claustrophobia and that dark, narrow well hole was already beginning to freak him out. Damon was going to owe him a _really_ expensive bottle of bourbon for this one. Or two.

Stefan fastened the noose at the end of the rope snugly around Alaric's waist. "You ready?"

_Not. Even. Slightly._ He swallowed hard. Manning up, he replied with false bravado, "Yep, lower away."

Katherine and Elena kept the flashlights trained down the well as Stefan slowly lowered him. Light beams or not, Alaric kept his eyes tightly closed during the descent. It wasn't long until he splashed down into water that came up high on his chest. He inhaled sharply and attempted to breath only through his mouth. Saying it _reeked_ of vervain and other nasty things down here was an understatement! His eyes popped open and he examined Damon's prone body in the weak light. _Oh my fucking God._ Alaric's stomach lurched and it was all he could do to prevent himself from vomiting. He heard one of the girls gasp loudly from above as they obviously noticed the same thing he did. There was no skin left on Damon - anywhere. He grasped his friend by the hair and lifted his head out of the water. If it weren't for his trademark dark locks, Alaric wouldn't even be certain it was him they'd found. Damon's flesh was mottled several shades of red and blackened in places. Alaric could swear he could hear slight sizzling sounds. He couldn't imagine how Damon could possibly still be alive. There were certainly no signs of life whatsoever. For a vampire, that didn't actually mean he truly was dead-for-good though. They'd find out soon enough.

"OK, now remove the rope from yourself and fasten it under his arms," he heard Stefan's voice call down from above.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that part out myself, thanks." Alaric muttered, as he tried to force himself to focus on the task at hand and only the task at hand.

In a few minutes he called up to them, "OK, he's secured. Pull him up."

Katherine wasn't so gentle as she hoisted Damon's limp body out of the well as quickly as she could without banging him around too much. As soon as he reached to the top, Stefan grabbed him in glove-clad hands and pulled him out and onto the ground. Elena promptly sat against the side of the stone well and propped Damon's head and torso back against her chest. She tried to ignore the nasty squelching sound his flesh made as she wrapped her thin arms around him to try to keep him in place.

"Katherine, blood bag!" Stefan called, staring into the awful mess of his brother's once-perfect face.

She tossed one to him and he ripped the top open and forced the tube into Damon's lax mouth.

Stefan pushed it as far down his brother's throat as he could and squeezed the bag to force some blood into him. "C'mon, Damon!" he muttered. There was no sign of life. He emptied the rest of the blood bag into him. Still no reaction.

"Swallow, damn it," Stefan implored.

He massaged the muscles of Damon's throat to try to elicit a swallowing reflex. Elena leaned down and whispered encouraging words into his ear. When he still didn't respond, her words became more demanding, urging for him to come back to them. Again, nothing. Stefan's movements over his brother's damaged throat became more frantic.

Caroline and Katherine each wore pained expressions as they observed the whole process. There was nothing they could do but silently watch the two people they each loved go through this. Stefan and Elena were desperately trying and failing to revive the one person _they_ each loved most in the world.

The girls startled when Alaric's voice interrupted their focus, "Um, guys? A little help here?"

Katherine quickly dropped the rope back down to him and within a minute she had retrieved him from the bottom of the well. She avoided touching his vervain-soaked arms, so he was forced to haul himself out and onto the welcomed ground. He promptly collapsed onto his knees, his heart racing.

Alaric raised his head to check on Damon. It appeared that his worst fears were being confirmed when he saw the scene playing out before him. Damon remained unresponsive and Stefan was clearly panicking. But Elena just looked determined. She was, without doubt, the bravest eighteen-year-old girl he'd ever met.

Unfortunately, it also seemed to him that she was about to become the saddest eighteen-year-old girl he'd ever met.

Then suddenly Damon's throat muscles constricted, just a little. A few long seconds later, he finally – miraculously - began swallowing on his own. Alaric noticed a single tear slip from the corner of Elena's eye when she saw this. She smiled, squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her forehead down into Damon's hair to conceal her great relief from the others.

Stefan threw his face up toward the starry sky, closed his eyes and breathed out a huge sigh. He honestly didn't know what he would have done if he'd lost his big brother for good. He didn't even want to think about it. And then he realized something that Katherine had obviously already noticed. At some point he'd started allowing himself to feel again, to care again.

He didn't have time to dwell on that right now, however. "Pass me another blood bag and a bottle of water," he instructed to whomever would listen.

He tore open the top of the second bag and pushed the tube between Damon's cracked lips. Not sure if it was conscious thought or simply vampire instinct, but either way, Stefan was ridiculously grateful to see his brother was now drinking the blood on his own. He opened the bottled water and passed it to Elena, who didn't need to be told what to do with it. She splashed it over Damon's face and combed the clean water through his dark hair with her fingers. They needed to remove as much of the vervain residue from Damon's flesh as they could so that the blood could begin its curative work.

Stefan looked up as Katherine put her hand lightly on his shoulder. "He'll be fine, Stefan. He's always been strong," she tried to quietly reassure him. He knew it was true but he still needed to hear it.

Alaric sat up and started intently at Damon's face as he watched his friend drink the healing blood. Relief washed over his features. No matter how much Damon got on his last nerve sometimes, he definitely had no desire to see the guy dead.

Elena and Stefan washed down as much of Damon's torso and arms as they could with the second bottle of water. She wrapped the towel she'd brought around his shoulders and then Stefan lifted him up in his arms like a child and quickly headed back toward where they'd parked. The group of them returned as fast as they were able to Alaric's SUV and Stefan lay Damon down across the backseat and slid in beside him.

Elena protested, "I'm sitting in back with him, Stefan."

Stefan eyes widened incredulously at her, "Elena, you're obviously not thinking clearly. He is a badly injured and possibly dying vampire. You are full of fresh, hot, human blood - which is exactly what Damon needs _badly _right now to heal. At the moment he's weak enough that I could easily stop him if he attacked you, but you have to keep your distance from him right now. Especially his face." Stefan looked at her pointedly as he said that last part.

As an afterthought, he added, "Ric, that goes for you, too. You two are riding back with Caroline. Katherine and I will handle this from here on out."

Alaric tossed Katherine his keys, "Fine with me. I'm still a bit too freaked out from that well to feel safe behind the wheel anyway."

Elena was shaking her head, "I'm not leaving him, Stefan." She climbed up into the passenger seat. Stefan recognized the look on her face and was well aware of how stubborn she could be, so he decided not to fight her on this for the time being. There were two healthy vampires in the vehicle that could protect her, should it come to that.

They were about half way back to the boarding house, when Damon finished the third bag of blood and groaned out loud. He tried to sit up, but Stefan pushed him easily back down onto the seat.

"You're in the back seat of Ric's truck, Damon," Stefan told him. "We're taking you home."

In a weak voice Damon croaked out, "Elena?" He half-opened his eyes and was comforted to find her chocolate brown ones gazing worriedly back at him.

She reached back with her right hand to grasp his fingers and gently assured him, "I'm right here, Damon. Right here."

"Don't move and don't talk - you need to conserve whatever slight energy you might have." Stefan smiled a tight-lipped smile at him and reached down to brush some of his damp black hair off his forehead.

"Welcome back, brother."


	6. Love Like Blood

**A/N **Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews - they make my day, each and every one of them! You guys rock. So, I've now had to up the rating on this story to an M, for later chapters. Hope you don't mind? Please, please let me know. I know this chapter isn't as exciting as the last one, but I promise, it's going somewhere good! :) Any feedback at all is much appreciated.**  
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**Chapter 6 – Love Like Blood**

They pulled up in front of the boarding house about ten minutes later, with Caroline and Alaric hot on their heels. Elena hopped out and opened the back door to assist Stefan with Damon. She noted that the blood was beginning to do its work. His face and torso now had a thin layer of new, shiny, red skin. Stefan gave her an irritated look and pushed past, heading toward the front door with his brother supported in his arms.

"Oh, no you don't," she hurried after them. "I just…just give me a moment, okay? Then you can go clean him up and put him to bed, or whatever it is you're rushing off to do with him." _Besides get him away from me as fast as you possibly can, that is._

Even though Elena was fully conscious of the others all being able see and hear them, she needed right now to at least have this. This small moment with him.

"Elena…" Stefan didn't think she was aware of how much she was pushing her luck. Before he could say anything else, she had wrapped her arms around Damon and buried her face into his neck. Which, in turn, positioned his mouth directly above her own neck.

Katherine watched this development with interest from a few feet away. As soon as she saw Damon's eyes turn red and the dark veins rise around them, Stefan pulled him back and into the house in a flash. She was pretty sure Elena didn't even realize the grave danger she had just put herself in. Perhaps it was time to remind her.

Elena was shocked at how fast Stefan had pulled Damon away from her. One second he was there in her arms, the next they were both gone. She looked around at the others, bewildered and frustrated.

Caroline and Alaric were starting to get into their respective vehicles. They were exhausted. It had already been a very long night.

Ric motioned to her, "C'mon Elena, I'll take you home."

"No, you go ahead. I'm staying here," Elena waved him away. He raised one eyebrow at her, but didn't argue.

When it was just the two of them left in front of the large house, Katherine finally spoke up. "Elena, what you just did there was incredibly stupid."

"Damon would never hurt me," she insisted, still feeling confused as to what had just happened.

"He almost just did. You had his _face_ pressed against your _neck_, for Christ's sake! Didn't Stefan explain thoroughly enough back in the woods? Do you not remember _anything_ about injured vampires and their need for fresh human blood?

He wouldn't _want_ to hurt you - you're right - but the man is not in control right now. The self-preservation instinct in vampires is incredibly strong. In a situation where it's either feed or die, all rational thought is suppressed and the monster takes over. He was this close to attacking you a minute ago!" She held her thumb and index finger about a quarter of an inch apart.

"Stefan probably just saved your life."

Elena looked at her, mouth open in shock.

Katherine wasn't done yet. "And how do you think Damon would feel if he killed you? He would _never_ forgive himself. _Never_. In fact he'd probably end his own life in guilt and grief. He's a sensitive boy, underneath all his posturing. But you already know that. Don't be an idiot, Elena. You have to stay away from him until he's mostly healed."

Elena processed all this with a gulp. Katherine and Stefan were right, of course. She hadn't been thinking straight and she had acted recklessly and selfishly.

"What he needs most right now is fresh, warm blood," Katherine stated. "I'm going to go procure him some."

"So you're just going to go find some random girl to bring back for him to feed on? And possibly kill? I can't let you do that!" Elena was disgusted at the thought. To be completely honest, there was an undercurrent of jealousy in there, too.

"Better some stranger than you, isn't it?" Katherine retorted.

Elena suddenly had an idea.

"No, actually. Take mine. Drive me to the hospital and compel the night nurse on duty to fill a bag with my blood. No one gets hurt. No one knows. Damon gets fresh human blood. Everybody wins."

Katherine tilted her head and examined her doppelganger curiously, "You'd do that for him?"

"Of course I would. Come on, you can drop me off home afterwards." Her mind made up, Elena turned her back on the vampire and walked towards Katherine's blue convertible.

* * *

><p>Katherine heard the crunch of gravel under her tires as she arrived back at the boarding house. It was approaching dawn and she hadn't slept in almost two days. Even though she didn't require anywhere near as much sleep as she had when she'd been human, after the trying last 24 hours she was rapidly approaching exhaustion.<p>

She quickly delivered the fresh bag of blood to Stefan – conveniently not mentioning that it had been donated by Elena - then turned and headed directly for his bedroom. She wasn't sure if he noticed her destination or not, but he didn't try to stop her. Which was something in itself, perhaps.

Stripping her clothes off onto the floor along the way, she went straight to his shower. Although she had nowhere near the amount of ick on her compared to Elena and Stefan after tonight, she still wouldn't consider going to bed until she was clean and smelling fabulous again.

Ten minutes later she snuggled down into Stefan's soft bed and drowsily wondered if he'd end up joining her there or not. If not tonight, then it would be soon. She was certain of it.

* * *

><p>It felt like every inch of his entire body was screaming in agony. It had consumed him from the moment he regained consciousness in the backseat of Ric's SUV, although when he wasn't alone he'd been disguising it well. That intense, disorienting feeling of your own flesh re-knitting and re-growing at super-human speed was a special kind of torture that – no matter how many times he went through it - Damon would never get used to.<p>

He groaned and fluttered his eyes open as he heard Stefan enter his room.

"Katherine brought you back a present from the hospital. She assures me this was running through human veins around twenty minutes ago." He tossed a fresh, warm bag of blood onto the bed beside Damon. "Drink up, brother."

Damon grimaced as he leaned over to pick up the bag and tear open the tube. Before it got near his lips, however, the incredibly honeyed and familiar scent of the blood hit him and he stilled. _She didn't!_ Tentatively he experimented with a tiny taste and closed his eyes in frustration. _Fuck, she did. _He lowered the bag from his mouth and wiped two fingers across his lips.

"Something wrong, Damon?" Stefan was watching him with a curious expression.

Damon glanced up at his brother, "Nope, it's all good. Could I speak to Katherine in private for a moment?" His voice still sounded raspy and raw.

"Actually, she's in the shower. Can it wait?" He paused, "Is something wrong with the blood? From over here it smells pretty sweet to me." Stefan took a step closer to the bed. "If you don't want it, I'll have it."

"No, no, it's fine. Thanks. You can go now." Damon repressed a shudder at the thought of Stefan drinking this blood, Elena's blood. His brother's control issues were weak at best and her blood was more intoxicating than any he'd ever had. He needed Stefan out of here.

Stefan was still examining him with that intense gaze of his. Seconds passed as Damon waited to see what he'd do. Then he smiled that tight-lipped smile, shrugged his shoulders and left the room.

Damon looked back down at the blood bag in his hand. The sweet scent of it was enthralling and he realized that he was actually salivating. He was deeply touched but no longer really surprised that Elena had freely given it for him, to help heal him. From somewhere hidden inside he felt a tiny flicker of hope.

Then he drank and his pain receded noticeably.

* * *

><p>Elena woke up slowly from a very deep, very hazy sleep. She had dreamed that they all had found Damon and brought him home. A few seconds later, a slow smile spread across her face as she remembered the reality. He was alive.<p>

She glanced at the clock on the night table. Holy crap, it was two in the afternoon! Although, considering it had been nearly dawn by the time she'd actually crawled into her bed, she guessed that wasn't so bad. She stared at the plastic bag of gore-streaked, ruined clothing on the floor by the bathroom door and reminded herself to take it downstairs to the incinerator. So much for that pair of fabulous skinny jeans - she'd never be wearing _those_ again.

Elena reached for her phone to text Stefan.

_How is he?_

When she returned from the bathroom, he still hadn't responded. _Figures_. She rolled her eyes and dialed his number.

He finally picked up after the fifth ring."Yes, Elena?"

"How is he, Stefan?"

"Better," he replied, offering no additional information.

Elena sighed, "I'm coming over." She ended the call without waiting for a negative reply.

The photo of she and Damon dancing that she had taken from his shoebox was tucked into her mirror frame and it caught her eye as she stood up. Somehow she hadn't gotten around to making a copy and returning it yet. Oops. Elena wondered how quickly he'd notice it was missing. She'd have to find a way to slip it back into his room unnoticed as soon as she could.

Grabbing Damon's leather jacket and her purse, she padded downstairs.

Alaric was in the living room, hunched over the coffee table marking papers with a cup held to his lips. From the smell of it, it wasn't coffee in that mug. Elena stopped to let him know that Damon was apparently doing better. He was slightly less pleased when she told him she'd donated a bag of her own blood to the cause.

"You think that was a good idea?"

Elena didn't even hesitate before firmly replying, "Yes. After everything he's done for me, it was the very least I could do. You know, Ric, you should maybe consider doing the same. He's saved your life with his blood on a few occasions."

"Yeah, but he's taken it a couple times, too. After hauling him out of that well last night…" Alaric paused and shuddered, "I'd say the scale still tips to my side."

She pressed further, "He could use all the fresh blood he can get. Better us willingly giving it than Katherine compelling some stranger for him."

"You mean better than them bringing random women home for him?" Alaric raised his brows at her.

Elena shrugged, "That, too."

He sighed and conceded, "I'll think about it."

"I'm heading over there. I'll let Katherine or Stefan know they can come by and take you to the hospital today for your donation."

With that she was out the door before he could protest further.

Now all she had to do was figure out what she was going to say to Damon when she saw him.


	7. Reunion

**A/N ** So I still feel like beating my head against the wall after the last 2 episodes. Therefore, there is hardly any angst in this chapter, I promise! (for now, anyway) Oh and I also want to mention that each and every chapter is named after a song that I love. If you want to know the artist, just ask. Hope you like this installment. Please let me know by clicking that little review button at the bottom. You really do make my day with each and every review. THANK YOU!**  
><strong>

**Chapter 7 – Reunion**

Stretching out lazily like a cat, Katherine rolled over in Stefan's bed. The other half was unoccupied. Ah, well. It wouldn't be long.

As if on cue, he appeared in the doorway of his bedroom and looked down at her, "Finally awake, I see?"

She smiled her trademark slow smile, raised one perfectly tweezed eyebrow invitingly and beckoned to him with one finger, "Join me, Stefan?"

He braced his hands on either side of the doorframe and his own face stretched into that familiar sardonic grin, "Yeah, I don't think so."

Katherine fake-pouted at him and slid out of bed. She was naked. Without glancing back at him, she languidly made her way to her bag to retrieve some clothes. She was fully aware of Stefan's burning gaze roaming over her shapely backside. No, it wouldn't be long at all.

* * *

><p>Elena sat in her car in front of the boarding house with her eyes closed, gripping the steering wheel tightly. If she concentrated on it hard enough, perhaps she'd be able to even out her breathing. While she was anxious to go in and see him, she was also unaccountably nervous. Her heart was already beating way too fast and she hadn't even laid eyes on him yet.<p>

The words of their last conversation kept echoing through her brain.

_There are a million reasons why we can't be together, Damon._

_To be with me, all you need is one._

She gulped and stepped out of her car.

Before she could even put her fingers on the doorknob, Stefan had pulled it open for her. Elena steeled herself and crossed the threshold. She looked up at him and searched his eyes for some semblance of the gentle vampire she used to know.

Softly she spoke, "I want to thank you, Stefan. Thank you for finally agreeing to do the blood locator spell. If it weren't for that drop of your blood, we wouldn't have found him in time. I'm not going to yell at you for taking a week to do it – I'm just very grateful that you did."

Stefan seemed a bit taken aback by her words. Obviously he was expecting her to say something quite different. He turned away from Elena and she heard him reply quietly, "I had to know."

Deciding to switch to what she assumed would be a less sensitive subject, she said, "Ric will donate blood for Damon too, as soon as you or Katherine are able to take him up to the hospital and compel a nurse to do it."

He stopped and looked back at her, "_Too_? That fresh blood Katherine gave me for him before dawn was _yours_?" Stefan blew out a quick breath and ran the fingers of one hand through his hair. "I guess I should've known."

"Should have known what, Stefan?"

"That you'd do that for him. Even though he nearly ripped your throat out only minutes before. That you'd volunteer to do whatever was necessary for him," his voice held a twinge of sadness.

Elena frowned, but she had stopped allowing herself to feel guilty about bruising Stefan's feelings some time ago.

"I would have done it for you, too. You know that," she whispered.

Stefan just nodded at her and turned to walk out the door. As he left he muttered, "He doesn't deserve you, Elena."

She sighed, "That's really not your decision to make."

They were both aware that things between them would never be the same again, but that didn't prevent her from feeling a bit melancholy about how everything had ended up.

With determination Elena looked up at the steps leading to the upper rooms. It was time to go see Damon.

She stopped in the study and folded his leather jacket back onto the chair where she'd found it. On impulse she turned and pulled a tumbler out of a low cupboard in the hutch. Digging to the back of the cache of liquor bottles, she located his favourite, most expensive indulgence. Elena poured two fingers of the finest bourbon into the glass and continued up the remaining short staircase to his room.

She knocked lightly, then took a deep breath, steeled herself and stepped bourbon-first through the doorway.

* * *

><p>Stefan sped through the woods to the ruins of the old Salvatore mansion. He wanted to be alone for a while.<p>

He had his brother back, so that was one massive weight off his mind, but there were still other things that needed to be contemplated. He knew that undoubtedly Wheeler would resurface at some point and become a problem again. Stefan would simply have to find him first and deal with him before he or anyone else he cared about got hurt. And he was pretty sure a heartfelt apology wasn't going to cut it. He figured he could count on Damon to help. Possibly Caroline. Maybe even Katherine, too. He thought she would if he asked her to.

He really wished he had a witch friend that he trusted to assist him. Unfortunately Stefan's supply of friends had dwindled remarkably over the past year. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure he had any left. He couldn't include Katherine – their relationship was far more complex than any label could capture.

Katherine. That was another thing he had been avoiding thinking about. He'd spent more than a century convincing himself that he no longer gave a crap about her, that she was a self-absorbed, conniving, deceitful bitch. The latter were all true. The former, however…well that was different issue entirely. No matter how much he fought it, buried it away and ignored it, a part of him still craved her. Still needed her. Damn it all, a part of him was still in _fucking_ love with her! He gritted his teeth in annoyance. Why couldn't he fully get over this woman? It must be a doppelganger thing – this incredible hold they both seemed to have on the men that fell for them.

Suddenly all the hairs on the back of Stefan's neck stiffened and he stood rigid, listening intently and sniffing the air. He whipped around at speed but couldn't detect any other presence in the surrounding forest. Even the local critters were silent.

_Shit._ This confrontation might end up going down sooner than expected. He was already being watched.

* * *

><p>Damon heard her coming, of course. He'd heard her from the moment her car turned into their driveway and he'd been waiting for her ever since.<p>

He was almost physically healed on the outside, but his energy levels were lower than he'd like and his bones still ached deep inside. A bit more time and some more blood, he figured, and he'd be well on his way back to normal.

Earlier today, Stefan had explained to him what had gone down, to the best of his knowledge. Which meant they still had a problem, because this guy remained out there, probably continuing to watch them and it wouldn't take him long to realize that his revenge attempt had been thwarted. He and his brother would have targets on their backs until they dealt with it. Damon smiled to himself at the thought of them "dealing with it". Now that was some brotherly bonding violence he was very much looking forward to.

But he, personally, had another much more pressing concern at the moment and she was currently standing outside his bedroom door.

* * *

><p>The first thing Elena focused on when she caught sight of him on the bed was his eyes staring back at her. Those beautiful clear blue eyes that she had missed so desperately. A large smile broke over her face to mirror the one on his. His skin had healed and his face was perfect again. His smoothly muscled chest was perfect again. He was perfect. Again.<p>

Damon stood up a tad unsteadily and she simply ran to him. In an instant he had removed the glass from her hand and set it down before enveloping her in his arms as she pressed herself against him.

Her brain turned off and her body took over as she clutched tightly to him like a life preserver. It felt like nothing Elena could do could get him close enough to satisfy her. A relieved tear broke free from the corner of each eye and began to trace trails down her cheeks.

"God, Damon. I missed you so much," she breathed against his neck. Elena pulled her face back a couple of inches so she could look directly into his eyes. "Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again or I'll kill you myself!"

His trademark smirk lifted the left corner of his lips, "Noted."

That was all it took. That familiar facial expression that she had been so terrified she might never see again. She stood on tiptoe, squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips against his waiting ones.

This kiss was not soft and gentle and hesitant. They each kissed the other like they'd been apart for years – like their very lives depended on it. Hands roamed each other's back and hair and face as their lips conveyed as much desperation, need and passion as they could possibly express without words.

Damon's knees were beginning to give out, so he pulled them both backwards onto his bed as he fell. This resulted in her laying on top of him, still hungrily devouring his lips with her own. Rationally, he knew they should likely be talking about the elephant in the room from their last discussion, not making out like horny teenagers. But he had wanted this for so very long now and he knew there was no way he would be able to bring himself to stop.

Elena began kissing a trail along his stubbled jaw-line, making her way up to that sweet spot behind his right earlobe. The quick intake of breath and low groan she elicited from him when she got there gave her goosebumps all over. It was one of the most erotic sounds she'd ever heard.

She felt his hands slip up along the smooth skin of her back below her t-shirt, cupping both her shoulder blades and pulling her closer to him as the fabric rode up high on her midriff. She pulled away with the intention of tugging the offending garment up over her head and tossing it aside. Glancing at his face as her hands found the hem of her top, she paused. Was it passion or pain causing that thin sheen of sweat that clung to his pallid skin and those red patches blooming high on his cheekbones?

Elena mentally kicked herself as she remembered that he was still healing. Then her brain further clicked in and she reminded herself that there were probably still things that needed saying before they made the decision to take whatever this was between them to the next level.

Suppressing a groan, she smoothed her t-shirt back down and tucked her body in beside his on the bed. God, it was frustrating to have to force herself to be rational when all she really wanted right now was to tear his clothing off!

Damon lifted his head and raised one eyebrow at her incredulously, "You're stopping?"

She nodded at him, her expression serious. "Damon, we need to talk."


	8. One Day Like This

**A/N **So, fair warning, this chapter is why the story rating was changed to an M. Adult content below. Read only the first two sections if you really want to skip that part. I don't recommend it, however, but it's up to you! Having said that, I truly hope you like this chapter. I found it stressful to write, but now that it's done I think it turned out OK if I do say so myself. Please click the review button and let me know. Thank you so much to all who favourited me or my stories and especially those who leave me reviews - they truly brighten my day to no end!**  
><strong>

**Chapter 8 – One Day Like This**

"Damon, we need to talk."

He rolled over onto his side to face her and his left hand returned under her top to resume stroking her back. "Fuck talking." His lips found a sensitive spot along her collarbone.

"But, you're still not well!" Elena attempted half-heartedly to push him away.

"Fuck that, too." He nibbled his way lower to where the hem of her v-neck began. His hand slipped up her side along her ribcage and he brushed his thumb lightly along the lace of her bra over her right nipple.

She sucked in a quick intake of air through her teeth and gasped, "Damon!"

"You really want to stop, Elena?" He looked up and met her gaze. He knew she didn't – the thick scent of her arousal was currently driving him insane.

Through shaky breaths she managed, "No. But we need to anyway."

"Fine." He shifted his head up to be level with hers and looked her straight in the eyes. "Talk away."

Damon paused for a second, "No, actually I have a question for you first."

"What's that?" Her hand drifted up to catch his wandering fingers in hers.

"Why does my bed smell like you?"

Her mouth fell open to answer, but he wasn't yet done. "And why do my dirty clothes in the hamper smell like you? Why do most of my supposedly clean shirts hanging in my wardrobe smell like you?" Damon was just about to ask about the missing photo too, but he considered the questions he would then undoubtedly have to deal with about that shoebox of mementos and he shut his mouth. Maybe best not to touch that one today.

Elena blushed and glanced away. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that," she mumbled.

He raised one eyebrow at her skeptically. "Come on, 'Lena."

She took a deep breath and looked back at him. She began by telling him about the spell that she and Bonnie had done, and what she had needed of his for it. How she had found the silver pocket watch from his mother in the drawer and how the spell hadn't worked.

"Bonnie as much as told me you were dead, Damon. I…I wasn't convinced but I didn't know what else to do. Stefan wouldn't help, or wouldn't work with me anyway," she paused and turned her face away from him, again breaking eye contact. "I just needed to feel connected with you – to feel close to you. When I was at home, it was so hard to focus on anything. Being here calmed me down."

He brought his fingers to her chin and gently shifted her face until she was forced to meet his eyes again. "OK. That explains the bed sheets but what about my clothing?"

Elena took a deep breath, "I wore them. They smelled like you." She pressed her lips together tightly and gave him a bashful little smile. His eyes drank in all her worry and fear from the previous week and her intense relief at his being here with her right now.

Then a small miracle occurred. He, Damon Salvatore, was at a loss for words.

* * *

><p>Stefan arrived back at the boarding house with the intent to speak with Katherine. Her car wasn't parked out front any longer, however Elena's Ford was still there. Which meant Elena was with Damon inside. Which meant he had absolutely zero interest in going into that house right now.<p>

He pulled out his phone to text Katherine. _Where are you?_

Within thirty seconds he got a reply. _At the hospital with Ric. Why?_

Ah, so she'd overheard his earlier little chat with Elena in the front hallway. Why wasn't he surprised?

_Need to speak with you ASAP. Meet me at the Gilbert's_?

_There in 10._

Stefan put his phone away and, instead of jumping into his beloved Porsche, he decided to run to meet her.

When Katherine pulled up in front of the Gilbert's house to drop off Alaric after giving blood, he was already sitting on the porch steps waiting.

Stefan made a point to thank Ric for his donation and then clambered into the passenger seat of Katherine's convertible as he went inside the house.

She turned to face him expectantly, curious to know what he needed to tell her. He was quiet for a minute, as if gathering his thoughts.

Then, gazing out the window, he spoke up. "I was being watched today. In the woods. It seems my problem has returned." He turned to passively look at her.

"So what are we going to do about it?" she asked, with a slight air of excitement.

Stefan noted her use of the plural pronoun in her question. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I have an idea…"

* * *

><p><em>Why is he just staring at me? Why isn't he saying anything? Is he upset with me?<em>

Elena whispered, "I'm sorry."

He looked astonished at that and gently placed his palm alongside her cheek. "Sorry for what?"

"Oh. I thought maybe you were mad at me." She looked at him shyly again.

"For what? Wearing my clothes? Sleeping in my bed? Silly girl - I _love_ the smell of you on my stuff. Hell, I wish everything I _owned_ smelled like you all the time! You just…surprised me, is all." Damon grinned his cute lopsided grin at her and ran his fingers down through her dark chestnut locks.

_Good God, he's sexy._ Elena couldn't help herself. She leaned forward and closed the short distance between their faces again, capturing his bottom lip in her teeth gently. He tilted his head to improve the angle and completely encompassed her mouth in a deep kiss. Their tongues battled for dominance as she tangled her fingers into his thick, dark hair. Damon's own fingers began tracing patterns over her back and sides again and his hands soon found their way back to her breasts.

He began kissing a hot, damp trail down her throat and mumbled against her skin, "Do you still want to talk?"

"Later," she gasped as his talented fingers teased her nipples into hard little nubs below the fabric of her bra. She arched her back in pleasure and he took the opportunity to quickly pull her t-shirt up and off. Damon paused for a moment, both to admire her loveliness and to give her a chance to protest. When she didn't stop him, just gazed at him with those gorgeous lust-filled brown eyes, he took it for acquiescence. Quick as a wink, her white lace bra joined her t-shirt somewhere on the floor.

_Fuck, she's beautiful._ More so than even his vivid imagination had conjured up in his wildest fantasies. He leaned forward to capture a pebbled nipple between his lips. She tasted like honey and strawberries and fresh air. The mewling sound that escaped her lips as he suckled was remarkably like that of a hungry kitten. He didn't think he could be more turned on than he already was, but, as usual, this girl had proven him wrong.

Elena always assumed that Damon would be…skilled …between the sheets. She accepted that he had about a century and a half more experience than she did and she was aware that most of his partners wouldn't have needed any compelling to convince them to sleep with him. So she didn't know why she was so surprised at the way her body was responding to his ministrations. His lips and fingers felt like they were literally burning her skin every place he touched her. She was trembling under him and moaning with each exhalation. When she remembered to breathe, that is.

Her fingers explored the flexing muscles at the back of his neck as he lavished attention to her sensitive buds with his blunt teeth. Elena traced around his shoulder blades, down his back and slowly worked her way lower to locate that highly erogenous divet right at the base of his spine, just below the edge of his low-slung pajama pants. She had every intention of making her way down to squeeze his tightly toned butt.

She tensed a little when he slipped one hand below the waistband of her jeans and involuntarily gasped out loud as his fingers brushed lightly over top of her damp panties. She was losing control quickly – no, scratch that – it was already gone.

Elena needed him and she needed him now. The electrifying tension between them had been building up for almost two years and she just couldn't take it any longer. Next time, and at this point she was fairly positive there would be a next time, they could take it slow. For all she cared next time they could take all damn day if they wanted to. Right now, she needed him more than she had ever needed anything in her entire life. And she wasn't willing to wait any longer.

"Damon," she pulled away and began unbuttoning her top button. He looked up at her questioningly, as if he were waiting for her to stop this, for her to push him away again. She lifted up her hips and pushed down her jeans. "I want you. Right now."

That declaration from her sweet lips was quite possibly the most erotic thing he had ever heard in his entire long life and the expression on her face assured him that she meant it. He swiftly complied with her demand. In a matter of seconds his pajama bottoms were off, her panties were somewhere in the far reaches of his bedroom and he was positioned between her smooth, supple thighs.

"Are you sure?" Damon was still in complete and utter shock that this was about to happen.

She sucked her lower lip between her teeth as she stared across her body to where he was situated. "Now. Please."

"Look me in the eye, Elena," he commanded gently. He shifted her knees up higher and further apart and held her gaze as he pushed forward, slowly entering her wet centre. She had thought she was ready for him, but she still let out a gasp as her body stretched to accommodate his size. He stopped moving to give her time to adjust, never letting his eyes leave hers.

"You OK?" he whispered. She was currently incapable of speech, so she simply nodded.

"God, 'Lena. You're so tight. You feel so fucking incredible," his voice sounded awestruck. As he began to move within her, she heard Damon gasp noises she'd never heard a man make before. Wonderful, guttural, arousing-as-all-hell noises. She had never experience lovemaking like this before - where her partner just gave his all to her without holding anything back or trying to tamper down his emotions. Damon emoted. Holy shit, did he emote!

Feeling a bit inexperienced and inadequate, Elena tried to make up for it in hopes that he wouldn't notice. She commenced rolling and tilting her hips up to meet each of his thrusts. She, herself, relinquished holding back and simply let go further and further with each passionate groan that flew from her lips as her body shook below his. Part of her wondered for a fleeting second if he would bite her and she found herself not so sure she'd mind if he did. As his movements became increasingly faster and deeper, he started hitting a certain incredibly sensitive spot inside her and she felt that familiar build up of pressure beginning in her lower belly. Damon chose that moment to bring his upper body down to her so that his smooth, hard body was moulded tightly against her soft abdomen and chest. He wrapped his arms around her lower back and held her firmly to him as he kissed her passionately once again. This change of positioning allowed for shorter, even deeper strokes and she realized part of him was now creating this amazing friction against her clitoris with each one. _Oh, this is new! Wowwy, wow, wow._ She wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to withstand this intense sensation before she lost her mind.

He released her swollen lips and twisted his head so that he could lower his face once again to an erect nipple and before she knew what was happening he sucked it hard into his mouth. That fabulous combination of pleasure and pain was all it took. Elena's world exploded around her.

"Nnnnnnnggggggggaaahhh! Damoooooon!" she moaned as her body began to convulse around his.

_My God, I completely love this woman._ Normally his stamina would have lasted for much longer. But between that sound she was making, his weakened state, the incredibly snug, hot, sensation of being inside her while she shuddered like that and the very fact that it was Elena – his Elena – who he was finally with – all those things combined to send him hurtling over the edge toward his own climax.

They both loudly gasped together as he came right after she did, his entire body shaking against her own. She clutched onto him tightly as he rolled them both so that they were laying on their sides facing each other once again, bodies still joined together.

Covered in sweat, both trying to catch their breath, they gazed into each other's eyes and smiled with true pleasure. Elena's face was flushed with passion, her eyelids were heavy and her heartbeat was going so fast she thought she might be having a heart attack. She never had any inkling that sex could ever be like this. She also knew that, if she allowed it, if she agreed to let him into her heart completely, that this would only be the beginning.


	9. Shine A Light

**A/N **Thank you so much again for all your kind reviews and story and author favourites, etc. You guys are seriously the best. Each and every review just makes me smile more. I promise I'll try to respond back to as many as I can. So here's number 9. Really hope you like this chapter!**  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9 – Shine A Light<strong>

Katherine parked the convertible up in front of the boarding house. Sitting beside her, Stefan glanced over and noted that Elena's car remained. She noticed him noticing. Saying nothing, she grabbed the bag of Alaric's blood and went inside, leaving him behind in her car.

She paused to listen for a moment before going upstairs. They were both in Damon's bedroom. From the soft, even breathing she could detect, it seemed Elena was asleep. Which, although less fun to barge in on, was probably for the best.

Katherine didn't bother to knock; she knew Damon could hear her coming. She walked in to find a touching scene – he was spooning around Elena's half-covered body as she slept. _How sweet._

She raised her eyebrows at him when he turned to glare at her. "Looks like you finally got what you wanted for once."

He shot her an annoyed look and put one finger against his lips. Carefully, Damon extricated his arms from the sleeping girl and slipped out of bed. He had no shame being naked in front of Katherine. She'd seen it all before.

She caught him slightly off guard as she tossed him the bag of fresh blood. His reflexes still weren't completely up to par and he fumbled it, but managed to save the bag from hitting the floor. He stared at her in surprise.

"Little gift from Ric. You can thank him later," she smirked quickly, and then gave him a more serious look. "Know what you're doing there, Damon?"

He glanced back at Elena for a second and then returned his gaze Katherine with a sneer. "Thanks for being Miss Blood Delivery Gal, Katherine. Isn't it about time for you to do your standard disappearing act? Or are you expecting a tip?"

"How about I give _you_ a tip, Damon? Watch your heart with that one. She's going to end up smashing it to pieces and then where will you be? You know she doesn't see forever when she looks at you." Her voice actually sounded a bit sympathetic.

He narrowed his eyes at her in warning. "Get out, Katherine. Now."

"Have you said 'thank you' yet to your little brother who just saved your life… again_?_ No? You just thought you'd sleep with Elena instead? Touching," she paused. "And _you_ think _I'm_ gonna be the one enjoying eternity alone."

The expression on his face conveyed imminent violence, so she just blew him a kiss and vanished out the door.

* * *

><p>When Katherine slipped back into the car, Stefan turned to look at her questioningly.<p>

She sighed, "You really wanna know?"

"Not really," he replied evenly.

"That's what I thought. So…now what?"

"Now, we need to go meet the others."

Katherine was relieved that he dropped it so easily. The topic of Damon and Elena was really not a discussion she wanted to get into with him right now. No matter how 'over' it was between Stefan and Elena, she knew he would always have a sensitive spot about that subject. She put the car into reverse and headed down the driveway into town. If she hadn't been paying such close attention, she might not have heard him whisper "Thank you" oh so softly.

* * *

><p>Damon took the fresh blood bag into the bathroom and drained it quickly. Ric had actually donated blood for him. And right after helping to retrieve his sorry ass from the bottom of that well. He grinned at his reflection in the mirror. Maybe there was some hope for their friendship yet. He made a mental note to have a case of Johnnie Walker Blue Label delivered to the history teacher tomorrow.<p>

On his way back to her, he paused and downed the forgotten glass of bourbon in two quick gulps. Damon climbed carefully back into bed and wrapped his arms around Elena's sleeping body once again. Pressing his face against the top of her head, he inhaled the scent of her sweet strawberry shampoo. He listened for a while to her even breathing in an attempt to relax.

He'd be lying to himself if he said Katherine's words didn't get to him a little bit. He knew Elena didn't see forever when she looked at him. Although he'd already been fully aware of it, she'd said as much again just the other night. No, wait, that was…a week ago, wasn't it? How did all this happen? So much had changed over the course of a measly seven days. Every-fucking-thing had changed. And Damon really had no idea what to make of most of it.

He stroked his fingers down over the soft cascade of her silken hair. Earlier his bed had smelled like her and he'd thought it was heavenly. Now, his bed smelled like both of them - together. The scent of their lovemaking was undoubtedly the most exhilarating thing he'd ever experienced. He considered the possibility of never washing his sheets again. For about two seconds.

He was still Damon Salvatore, after all.

* * *

><p>Elena slowly came awoke, late on a sunny Sunday morning. She was in her own bed. Alone. Which was normal, of course, but she couldn't help but sort of wish Damon was beside her.<p>

They still hadn't "talked". Not really. Not in any deep and meaningful way, anyway. She'd awakened in the early evening yesterday curled up naked in his warm, rumpled bed to the sound of him humming in the shower. A lazy grin had spread across her face, which began to burn as she'd remembered.

She'd glanced around and noticed that he had folded and piled her clothing neatly on the bedside table. This elicited another smile – it was so very Damon to tidy up after them.

Elena was completely dressed by the time he'd sauntered back into his room, wearing nothing but a white towel slung low across his hips. Her tongue had involuntarily slipped out and licked her lower lip at the sight of his delectable, almost-naked torso, with a few scattered water droplets glistening here and there across his muscled chest. Luckily he hadn't noticed her reaction. She was sure he would have commented if he had.

She'd tried so hard to not make things awkward. She really didn't want anything but ease between them right now. Probably, she had failed, though. She knew she'd said something about getting home, completing an assignment, studying for finals and all that. He hadn't tried to convince her to stay, which was rather odd in and of itself. He'd just given her a quick kiss and she'd been on her way. Truthfully, he'd seemed a bit distant.

Elena knew Damon very well, and she had a pretty good idea of why he'd been acting a little closed off last night. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop. As much as he was happy with their reunion, she knew he figured it was just a matter of time until she pushed him away again. In order to reassure him, they needed to finish the conversation she'd started before he disappeared.

It had taken her thinking she'd actually lost him forever to figure it out, but she finally knew what she wanted to – no, _needed_ to - say. Damon had been right. It would only take one reason for her to choose to be with him. She'd allowed herself be blind, deaf and dumb to what she really wanted for far too long, but she realized now what that one reason was.

Today she was going to tell him why she needed him to stay.

* * *

><p>Damon furrowed his brows at the text message from Elena. She wanted him to meet her in an hour at a secluded clearing in the woods, about three miles from the boarding house. It was not too far from Mystic Falls - the actual waterfall, not the town.<p>

What was she up to? He smirked to himself as he wondered if perhaps she wanted a repeat of yesterday's encounter. An outdoor, mid-afternoon romp? Maybe Elena had a more adventurous side than he'd previously thought.

Really though, she probably just wanted to finish what he'd so spectacularly distracted her from in his bedroom yesterday afternoon. 'The Talk.' Away from prying vampire ears. His brother's ears in particular. He couldn't say that he blamed her for that. Finding even a single moment of complete privacy in a house with other vampires around was rather difficult.

Perhaps he'd be able to successfully sidetrack her again today. Damon certainly had every intention of trying.

* * *

><p>Elena was laying out napkins, plates and dishes on a blanket, when she looked up and noticed him leaning against a nearby tree, just watching her.<p>

A picnic? Well, Damon was definitely not expecting that. A wide grin split his features. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been on a picnic. Quite possibly it was more than 160 years ago, with his mother in these very same woods. She'd loved simple things like picnics and he'd loved the rare one-on-one time he got to spend with her. If his heart could move, it would have swelled for Elena in that moment.

She smiled at him and reached in the basket – yes, she had an actual picnic basket – to pull out a bottle of wine and two fluted glasses. Damon strode across the clearing to join her and sat down to face her cross-legged on the blanket.

He looked at her in wonder. "You never cease to amaze me."

"Why's that?" She tilted her head at him questioningly.

"A picnic in the woods. You invited _me_ to a picnic in the woods. Do I seem like a picnic in the woods kind of guy to you, Elena?" That old familiar smirk was back on his face.

"Yes." Her answer was simple and definitive and he didn't argue. Human-Damon had definitely been a picnic date with a beautiful girl kind of guy. Was it possible that she'd figured him out a little bit? If anyone ever could, it would be this girl.

Damon opened the wine and poured it as she removed lids off containers of finger food and sandwiches. Nothing fancy – Elena didn't really know how to cook much – but it was all good.

They ate and drank in companionable silence for a while. The ease between them that she had been striving for had returned.

He was sitting against a tree sipping his second glass of wine, and, deciding the time was right, she moved to settle down between his legs with her back against his chest. One of Damon's arms automatically wrapped around her slender waist and she rested her head back on his shoulder.

"Do you remember our conversation in my bedroom a week ago?" she began.

"Clearly," he replied and dropped his head down to begin planting soft kisses along the pulse point of her exposed throat. It was time to employ distraction technique number one.

She wasn't about to let him divert her from saying what she had to say this time, so she kept going. "I told you I needed a bit more time to figure out what I wanted."

"Mmmhmmmm," his mouth traveled higher along her smooth, warm neck, heading for the back of her left earlobe and softly tickling her skin along the way. She couldn't hold back a small gasp of pleasure.

_Focus, Elena!_

"Damon, stop. Please. This is important." She twisted away from his lips so that she was looking at him directly.

Reluctantly he gave in and met her eyes. "Ok, Elena. Talk. Go ahead." His voice sounded resigned.

"I know now what I want."

"Do tell." His tone was flat and she could almost hear the wall starting to go back up between them.

She hesitated, unsure how to start the important bit. "I thought I'd lost you forever. And I couldn't stand it. I felt hollow and empty and like a chunk of me – a really important, vital chunk of me – was missing. I felt incomplete without you, Damon."

He narrowed his eyes at her, disbelieving what his ears were relaying to his brain. His left hand around her waist moved up unconsciously and threaded his fingers through hers as she spoke. Elena shivered slightly at the touch of his hand on her own.

"I don't know if I'll ever want to be a vampire. I don't think so. But I've realized it's not an impossibility that I could change my mind one day. Maybe. When I'm older. If I get any older, and with the life I've been leading lately, I've decided that I just need to seize the moment, so that I don't have any regrets if either of us were to die tomorrow. After everything that's happened, I know we have no idea how much time we have left. If I let you go without even giving us a chance, it would always be my greatest regret, Damon.

I told you that night that there were a million reasons why it couldn't work between us and you replied that all I needed to be with you was one. And you were right. And I'm so sorry for making you wait so long," she paused and stared into his crystal blue eyes.

Damon swallowed past the lump in his throat that was forming at her words. "So, what's the reason?" he quietly asked.

Before she could reply, Elena was startled by a sound. _Ffffwhomp!_ She jumped up and scanned the trees around them. There was a large man standing in the shadows just beyond the edge of the clearing, lowering what appeared to be a crossbow to his side. Fearfully, her gaze darted back to Damon, who was staring down at his forearm. A vervain dart was lodged there. She felt like she was living in slow motion as she watched him shakily pull it out and glance up to meet her eyes.

"'Lena…" he whispered and then his head fell to the side and back against the tree. It seemed to her that he'd lost consciousness, but he could still see her through the thin opening between his nearly closed lashes.

"NO! Damon, wake up! Please!" She put both hands on the sides of his face and shook him_. Damn it!_ His tolerance and healing abilities were obviously still compromised.

"Move aside, girl." She heard a gruff voice speaking from directly behind her and then felt a strong arm shove her to the side.

Elena gasped. The tall, broad-shouldered man was holding a stake. A very long, very sharp stake.

As he pulled back his forearm to drive it firmly into Damon's chest, she wrenched out of his loose grip on her shoulder and threw her body forward.

There wasn't any pain. There was only an intense pressure pushing her body back against Damon's, and then numbness. She thought she heard Stefan's voice yelling her name. She thought she heard Bonnie scream. Then her world faded to black and she didn't think anything any more.

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><p><strong>AN** **Yes, I know I've left you with a cliffhanger here. Sorry! There are 3 more chapters to go. Please click on that little Review link below and let me know what you think so far!**


	10. Further Lost

**A/N** You guys have overwhelmed me with your kind reviews! I can't say 'thank you' enough. Sorry for the cliffhanger last chapter. This one doesn't have one, so you're safe. For now! *evil laugh* Hope you like it. As usual, please let me know by clicking on that little Review link at the bottom. I'll try to respond to as many as I can.

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><p><strong>Chapter 10 – Further Lost<strong>

Stefan came to a stop just past the edge of the clearing as, in shock, he saw Elena's body intercept the stake meant for Damon. It plunged into her upper right chest with a horrible soft, wet sound.

"Elena!" he shouted and began to run to her. Behind him he could hear Bonnie screaming.

Stefan halted in his tracks. First things first. They needed to deal with this big vampire, whom he assumed was Wheeler, right the fuck now.

"Bonnie! Migraine, please – now!" He heard her mutter a couple of words softly in Latin behind him. Hopefully the witchy aneurysms wouldn't affect himself and the other vampires in the clearing as well.

Wheeler groaned, clutched the top of his head and crumpled to his knees beside Damon and Elena.

Stefan leaned in close beside the incapacitated vampire's ear and whispered, "I know this doesn't mean anything to you, but I need to tell you that I'm sorry for what I did to your girl. If I could go back in time and change things, I would. But I can't. Now your revenge is a threat to the people I care about, so I have to finish this." He wasted no further time – he quickly plunged his fist through Wheeler's back and up under his ribcage to tear out his heart. It was all over in about two seconds.

He glanced over his shoulder to find Katherine right there beside him, but she was focused on Elena.

"Stefan, she's losing too much blood. She's dying. You want me to donate? Mine is the strongest," she offered.

He just nodded at her, in shock as to how everything had gone so fucking wrong, so fucking fast. Katherine knelt before the unconscious girl and carefully took hold of the protruding end of the stake that was pinning her against Damon. With one swift tug, she tore it straight out and tossed it aside. Stefan grimaced at the wet, sucking sound of it and the sight of all the blood starting to flow copiously from the wound. Katherine applied pressure with one hand and smoothly tore open the wrist of the other to put it to Elena's lips. From what Stefan could tell, it didn't seem like Elena drank, but Katherine pulled away after less than a minute and gave him a quick bob of her chin to assure him that she did, actually, get some blood in.

Stefan walked over and began to gather Elena up into his arms. He tried to steel himself against the strong allure of all that sweet blood – her blood – covering pretty much everything in view. He glanced at his brother, who also seemed to be drenched in Elena's blood, and realized that Damon was awake, through incredibly weakened. Which meant there was a good chance he had witnessed exactly what had happened. Stefan thought that would play out in one of two ways, depending on how he chose to interpret the situation. Knowing his brother, he probably wasn't going to react to any of this very well.

He paused on his knees with a still-bleeding Elena in his arms. "Damon, you OK?" he whispered.

Damon groaned, then struggled and failed to sit up. His hooded eyes never left Elena's slack face.

"Ric," Stefan called. "Need your help over here, buddy."

Alaric was soon kneeling in the dirt beside them, his now recovered crossbow in one hand.

"Can you take care of my brother - help him up and get him to the hospital? I'm going to run Elena over there right now."

"I'm on it. Go. We'll find you later. Take care of our girl there." Alaric tenderly touched the side of Elena's face with the back of his hand for a second. Over the past year and a half she had become like family to him, as well as a good friend. He didn't know what he'd do with himself if she died on him, too.

Stefan sped off with her at vamp speed, with Katherine and Caroline right on his heels. He certainly hoped that one of them would be back to dispose of the dead vampire's body later. Right now the remaining humans had more important things to deal with. It looked like it would just be he and Bonnie hauling Damon's ass back to the car.

He turned back to his friend on the ground, who seemed to be in shock. "If anyone can help her, it's them, Damon. She's in good hands. She'll be fine."

"My fault," he roughly choked out. "Always…my fault. Need to…_stop_…saving me..."

Alaric gave him a look of compassion and then shouldered him up for the long struggling walk back to Bonnie's car.

* * *

><p>Caroline stroked Elena's hair on her lap in the backseat of Alaric's SUV and tried to focus on pretty much anything but the enticingly strong scent of all the freshly spilled blood. Her tears were blurring her vision - she was well aware there was a huge chance her friend might yet die.<p>

Katherine swiveled around in the passenger seat to look back at her. "I don't know if this makes either of you feel any better or not, but if she does die, she _will_ come back. I got a teaspoon or two of blood into her back there. It's not much but it will be enough."

Caroline swallowed thickly. "Thanks, Katherine. For trying to help." She knew Elena didn't want to be a vampire, but maybe, just maybe she would eventually agree that it was better than being dead. And she would help her friend out, of course, having just gone through her own transition little more than a year ago. Elena _would_ choose to transition, wouldn't she? Not like Caroline's dad. A shudder passed through her at the horrible memory of his recent passing. She knew with confidence that she would be there for Elena, and support her no matter what.

Stefan was driving like a maniac and before long they pulled up at the E.R. entrance of Mystic Falls Hospital.

* * *

><p><strong>Hospital Day 1<strong>

_Elena is dreaming. She's fully aware that she's dreaming but she has no inclination to try to wake up._

_It's nice here. She feels no worry or danger or sadness. Just peace. There are pretty colours and soft music and light breezes over her face and she is confident that everything and everyone is OK. She feels the most content that she has felt since she was a little girl. _

_Sometimes she hears voices. Sometimes she recognizes the speaker and it excites her and makes her want to connect back, but she's always unable to. The voices never last very long._

_She tries to concentrate. Right now she can hear her best girlfriends Bonnie and Caroline arguing about something. Something about her. And blood. She attempts to focus on the words but they are fading in and out and could be speaking Greek for all she can tell. Then they fade away._

_Later she recognizes Ric's voice come swimming through the swirly, beautiful soup of her mind. He always speaks so calmly, even when he is sad. He sounds sad now. She wonders why._

_Then he is speaking with Stefan, whose voice is so low and garbled it's like he's underwater. Or maybe she's the one that's underwater. It's hard to tell. Then they are gone. _

_It seems like she is alone now, but she knows that she is not. She's never alone. He is here, with her, always._

* * *

><p><strong>Hospital Day 2<strong>

Damon sat at her bedside in the tiny hospital room with her small, clammy hand clutched in both of his large ones. His body had completely healed, but hers had not. Katherine's blood had helped to some extent but Elena still hadn't woken up. Her poor, frail body was hooked up to dozens of tubes and sensory wires attached to monitors. There was a wide, padded bandage across her chest. Damon had been listening since he'd first arrived and her heart rate was always very slow, with the occasional short burst of rapid patter before subsiding again. The doctor had told them that her condition was a kind of a self-induced coma to deal with the trauma, and that she would come out of it when her body was ready for her to. Or she would pass away. No one knew for sure.

It was very late and her friends and family had finally gone home to get some sleep. Jeremy had arrived that morning from Denver and had spent a good portion of the day at the hospital, wandering in and out of this cramped room. He had many questions, none of which Damon had answers for. Eventually Alaric had convinced him to return home with him.

Damon had barely moved for the last 48 hours, except when the nurses had asked him to. He'd listened patiently to Stefan's explanation of what had happened. How he and Katherine had made a plan to lure Wheeler away from himself and Elena by them leaving town together. They had convinced Bonnie to perform a cloaking spell for Elena and, in theory at least, it all should have worked fine. Then Katherine had gotten word from one of her trackers – and why was he not surprised whatsoever that she employed trackers? – that Wheeler was back in Mystic Falls. They'd gathered Caroline and Ric and the group of them had hunted him down, supernaturals and humans with weapons, alike.

Unfortunately they'd found him about thirty seconds too late.

Damon still couldn't believe that Elena had put herself between him and a stake. And nearly died for her efforts. He shuddered as the reality screamed at him. Quite likely she could still die from it. Katherine's blood was no longer in her system and Caroline was itching to inject Elena was some of her own, as a back up plan. But he knew, no matter what she'd been trying to tell him before the accident, that she did not want to be a vampire. He just needed her to wake up - even if it was only for a moment so that he could say goodbye. As she was right now, he could speak to her as much as he pleased, but he doubted she could hear his words. Mostly he kept silent and still. The only parts of him that moved were his fingers stroking her hand.

If he'd thought there was a hope in hell that God would listen to him, he would have prayed.

* * *

><p><em>It seems to be night, where she is. She does not feel cold. She doesn't feel any sense of temperature at all. Everything she sees is still beautiful, even in the semi-darkness. Deep blues and velvet purples and rich burgundies surround her. She can hear classical music in the distance. It sounds like an overture. It's haunting and lovely.<em>

_Suddenly he is there, a few feet in front of her. For a second she is elated at the sight of his flawless face. But then – oh! Her heart breaks. She has never seen him look so sad. She wants to go to him and comfort him, but for some reason she cannot._

_She hears him speak softly to her._

"_Elena, please come back. You've got to come back."_

_She tilts her head at him, uncomprehending. Come back where?_

"_I love you. I don't know what I'll do if you don't come back." His voice breaks and she sees tears start to trickle down his cheeks, just before his face crumples in despair._

_Confused, she wants to reassure him that she hasn't gone anywhere. She reaches for him. But he has already disappeared._

* * *

><p><strong>Hospital Day 3<strong>

Stefan arrived for a visit in the early evening. He nearly bumped straight into Caroline as he was entering the main doors of the hospital. As soon as she saw him, she pulled him aside.

"I'm worried about Damon. He barely moves, he barely speaks - he just stares at her. It's a little creepy. I'm also pretty sure he hasn't fed since before we found them in the woods." She held Stefan's gaze, more apprehensive than usual.

She had a good point. If Damon was starving himself, intentionally or otherwise, it could end up being very dangerous to any nearby humans before much longer.

He sighed, "I'll speak with him, Caroline. Thanks for the head's up." He squeezed her shoulder in reassurance as she turned to leave.

With a freshly compelled blood bag in his hand, Stefan walked into Elena's room five minutes later. The two brothers locked eyes over her immobile body. He knew things weren't looking so good.

Tossing Damon the bag, Stefan said, "It seems you need a little pick-me-up."

He caught the bag in one hand and laid it on the floor beside him. "Later." His voice was rough.

"When was the last time you fed, Damon?"

His brother paused for a second, thinking. "I don't remember. Not that long."

"Really, brother? It's been at least three days, hasn't it?"

Damon seemed a bit surprised at this. "Yeah…maybe it has."

"Drink up. You're of no use to her if you're weak, blood-starved and ready to drain the next nurse that walks in."

His brother shot him a glare. "I will. Later."

Stefan dropped the subject and sat down with his elbows braced on his knees. "How's she doing?" he questioned softly.

Damon raised his eyes from her face to meet Stefan's and fiercely gritted out through clenched teeth, "She's fucking _dying_, that's how she's doing! And there's not a goddamned thing I can do about it." His voice cracked a little and he looked away.

Stefan visibly flinched. His brother was barely holding it together. "Did you or Care give her any blood today?"

"No. It's not what she wants, Stefan."

"Are you sure about that? It's better than dead."

"I can't make that choice for her. Not again. You more than anyone should know that." Damon sounded nearly broken.

They sat quietly with her for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.

Eventually Stefan spoke softly. "We're leaving, Katherine and I, as soon as…" He waved one hand toward Elena's pallid face. He didn't need to finish his sentence.

Damon gave him a skeptical look, "You're leaving with _Katherine_? _Really_? You always were a sucker for punishment, weren't you?"

Stefan's face was stoic. "I love her," he murmured.

His brother scoffed, "Well goody for you. Too bad you didn't think of that a couple of years ago." He rolled his eyes. "I'm glad someone around here gets to ride off into the sunset. Until she grows bored of you, anyway. Good luck."

Stefan didn't take the bait. They quietly resumed listened to the regular beeping of the monitors, the soft gurgle of the fluids being pumped in and out of Elena and her very slow, steady heartbeat.

After a while, Stefan broke the silence again. "She loves you, you know."

"Who, _Katherine_?" Damon's voice dripped with bitterness.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "No, Elena."

Damon met his gaze again and shook his head once, emphatically. "She doesn't. She _cares_ about me. Obviously, she's attracted to me. But she does not _love_ me. She can't. You saw to that." He paused for a moment. "It doesn't matter. I'm the worst thing for her anyway. She'd be better off without me."

"Don't be a fool, Damon. She needs you as much as you need her."

His brother just shook his head and lowered it into his hands. "Isn't it time for you to go off and find Katherine, brother? I'll text you if there's any change."

"OK. I'll go. Promise me you won't go all self-destructive again and do something you'll regret, Damon? Drink the blood." Stefan left the room.

No one saw Damon's shoulders start to shake as low sobs overtook him.


	11. Called Out In The Dark

**A/N** I know I sound like a broken record, but I have to say a huge 'Thank You' again for all your reviews and favourites and Story alerts. You guys make me smile so much! Can't tell you how much I appreciate knowing your thoughts on my writing. Hope you like chapter 11. More angst, I know. It will all be worth it in the end, promise! Please, please review if you can.

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><p><strong>Chapter 11 – Called Out In the Dark<strong>

Katherine was pacing a worn track in the floor in front of the fireplace in the drawing room, a tumbler of Damon's top-shelf bourbon clutched tightly in her grip. She paused for a moment by the flames to down it and went over to pour another.

She felt helpless and this nearly foreign emotion was making her extremely pissed off. The angry _click, click, click_ of her heels on the hardwood echoed throughout the cavernous room.

If Elena died, it would destroy Damon. Which would in turn destroy Stefan. Losing her would mess up Stefan too, but losing his brother…well, she didn't even want to think about it. That might not be something he would ever recover from. Not to mention that Elena was the last in the Petrova bloodline. Katherine had to admit that she, too, was atypically emotional about the human girl's situation.

She looked up as she heard Stefan come in. He walked into the room, sat down on the couch in front of the fire and threw his head back against the cushions. She met his tired gaze. "Well?"

"No change. It doesn't look too good right now. In other news, Damon hasn't fed for at least three days and is starting to lose it. It's almost like he's already given up hope."

Katherine joined him on the couch and looked at him worriedly. "He thinks she's dying?"

"Yes. But if I know my brother, he also blames himself for her injuries in the first place because it was his life she was trying to save. He doesn't think he deserves her even if she does pull through. I tried to talk sense into him. I tried. I don't think I got anywhere though." Stefan looked so dejected and frustrated. It was obvious he was anticipating losing both of them.

She didn't know what else she could do, so she simply tugged him to her and embraced him tightly. He didn't pull away this time - he actually clung to her. She didn't get the sense of satisfaction in this act that she'd expected she'd feel when he was finally back in her arms. All she wanted more than anything right now was a way to ease his pain and stop his tears.

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><p>Hospital Day 4<p>

_She's lying on her back with her eyes closed, listening to the gentle crash of the waves. She feels the warm sun beating down on her skin and a gentle breeze caressing her cheek like a lover's finger. She is incredibly content; she really could stay here forever. Maybe she will. She could just let go and stay._

_She thinks she might be on a beach in the Bahamas, where her parents took the four of them for a family vacation five years ago. She had loved it there. Maybe, if she could just open up her eyes, she'd see her mom reading in the shade of an umbrella nearby. Or Jeremy playing frisbee with her dad in the shallow surf._

_Concentrating harder, she suddenly realizes she can't hear any sounds of life around her. No children playing, no couples murmuring, no mothers calling their stray toddlers back from the water's edge. Not even the ever-present sound of gulls squawking and diving for discarded scraps in the sand._

_She feels for his hand, which is always nearby, always there when she needs it, always there even if she doesn't. For the first time in what feels like forever, she can't find him._

_She is alone. Really, truly alone now. Alone like she's never been alone before in her entire life. She opens her mouth wide and cries out._

* * *

><p>Damon sat completely immobile on the edge of a rock cliff, about five or six feet from where the Mystic River tumbled off the precipice to become the Falls. His eyes were closed to the immense natural beauty surrounding him and two fingers of his right hand gripped the ring on the middle finger of his left. Not even his fingers moved to twist the metal.<p>

He'd been sitting silently in this spot for a few hours now. He hadn't known what to do and his brain had simply shut off and let his legs take over.

Elena had flat-lined. This afternoon, right before his eyes, her heart had stopped. Damon had been dreading that moment for days and when it had finally arrived, he'd panicked. Before any medical staff could react to the loud, ear-piercing tone of the heart monitor and come to check on her, he had fled at vampire speed. With no destination in mind, with a forcibly empty mind actually, his feet had brought him here.

His phone had started buzzing some time after he's settled onto the cliff's edge. Without glancing at it, he'd turned it off. If he read the messages, it would be true. If he'd stayed at the hospital to face the doctor, it would be true. Even though he _knew_, it didn't have to be final yet. If he just remained here and shut the world out, he could maybe ignore it for a while longer. Maybe he could even ignore it forever. So he closed down his brain and refused to think; he simply existed. He was as still as the rock he was sitting on.

* * *

><p>She opened her eyes and had no idea for at least a full minute where she was. When she finally cleared some of the haze from her mind enough, she realized she was in a hospital room hooked up to an array of monitors. She swiveled her eyes, glancing around, but the room was empty except for her. Where was he?<p>

A minute or two later, Bonnie and Caroline entered into the small room with fresh flowers in their hands. Bonnie gasped out loud when she noticed that Elena's eyes were open. Both girls regarded her with wide, shocked smiles.

"Welcome back, hon!" Caroline gushed, as she slipped into Damon's deserted chair on her right and reached for Elena's hand.

Elena opened her mouth in an attempt to speak, but her throat was parched and all that came out was a low rasp. She flicked her eyes toward the water cup on the table. Bonnie got the hint and quickly placed the bent straw between her dry lips.

She shot her friend a thankful look as she took a small sip of the lukewarm liquid. Finding her voice, she whispered hoarsely, "Thanks…where's Damon?"

Bonnie looked surprised for a moment. "That's odd. He's been in here pretty much constantly. I'll go have a look for him." She got up and went out into the corridor.

Caroline leaned over so that her lips were close to her friend's ear. "Elena, before a nurse comes in here and sees you're awake – can I give you some blood to heal you further? You might even be able to get out of here tonight if I do."

Elena noted that she'd waited until Bonnie had left the room to offer. She gave Caroline a grateful nod and her vampire friend quickly dropped her fangs, tore a small hole in her wrist and pressed it against Elena's mouth.

By the time the nurse arrived with Bonnie hot on her heels, she was trying to sit up.

While Elena was being examined, the girls got busy outside the door to her room texting everyone about her improved condition. Before fifteen more minutes had passed, Alaric, Jeremy, Matt and Stefan had joined them in the main hallway of the small hospital. Damon was still nowhere to be found.

* * *

><p>Stefan walked across the hospital parking lot to Katherine's convertible and jumped in beside her. She had decided to remain in the car while he went in to see Elena and the others, assuming her presence might not really be needed at this particular happy moment. She could tell by the expression on his face that not all was as well as she'd assumed it would be after he'd received the message about Elena's awakening.<p>

"What's wrong, Stefan? Is she not OK?"

"She's fine, actually." He flashed a brief, relieved smile. " But there's one problem still. My pain-in-the-ass brother appears to have gone missing. For the first time since she was admitted, he's not in her room. He's not in the hospital at all and his phone seems to be turned off."

She gave him a confused look. "Why would he leave? Do you think he knows she's awake?"

"Elena says he wasn't there when she opened her eyes. So, no, it doesn't seem like it." He turned to look at her. "What I really want to do right now is find five minutes to say goodbye to her alone and then get the hell out of Mystic Falls for a decade or three. However, I can't get on with the rest of my life until I know that Damon is OK. I'm worried he may have fallen back into full self-destruct mode again because he's convinced himself she's better off without him. You understand I have to find him, right?"

"Of course," she replied. "I'd expect nothing else. I'll help you and then we can leave this hick town in the dust, OK? Paris, here we come! I need a new pair of Louboutins."

He wasn't smiling, so she relented. "So…any idea where he may have gone?"

Stefan sighed. "None whatsoever."

* * *

><p>The doctor wasn't prepared to give Elena the all-clear to go home yet without running more tests and another overnight in the hospital, but Caroline had taken him aside for a minute and, like magic, he suddenly became more agreeable. Ah, the benefits of compulsion.<p>

Elena shot her friend a grateful smile and stood up, fully dressed in the clean clothes Jeremy had been thoughtful enough to bring her from home. She was worried about Damon, though. They told her he hadn't left her bedside the whole time she was there, so what had made him disappear shortly before she woke up?

Her friends were taking her to the Grill for a late supper, as she was surprisingly ravenous for a recently recovered coma patient. After that she just wanted her own shower, her own pajamas and her own bed. She also wanted a certain blue-eyed vampire to share it with. Where the hell had he gone and why wouldn't he answer his phone? This didn't seem like him. Stefan had texted her a few minutes ago assuring her that he'd find his brother, so she tried to push the worry to the back of her mind and celebrate her health with the people that she loved. Most of them, anyway.

* * *

><p>It was now full dark and a crescent moon had risen in the clear starry sky above the trees. Damon wasn't appreciating the beauty of it though. He still sat with his eyes closed in exactly the same position on the edge of the cliff. The roar of the cascading waterfall next to him filled his ears and he focused entirely on that sound to keep his mind blank.<p>

He'd been doing this for hours. Vampires can become quite adept at being completely motionless for indefinite periods of time. Maybe it's because their hearts don't beat and they don't need to breath if they don't choose to. They don't need to swallow, they don't need to blink – all those things they simply do out of habit and to help them blend in. Damon didn't know about other vampire's motivations, but he had continued to do all these things because they helped him feel more human. Sometimes he missed being human even more than he missed his mother, and that was really saying something.

Damn it, he just realized he'd allowed himself to start thinking again. But it was too late now. These days thinking about his mom always brought him back to thinking about Elena. It was a shame she would never get to meet his mother. Not only did they each possess great beauty, but the two were also a lot alike in personality as well. They were both strong willed and stubborn and fiercely protective of those they loved.

And they were both lost to him forever.

Damon stood up suddenly. He moved back a step and, with as much force as he could muster he hurled himself off the edge of the high cliff wall.

* * *

><p><strong>AN** Sorry for the 2nd "cliffhanger"! (or lack of, considering! lol) Hope you can forgive me! We're in the final stretch now...


	12. What Was Found

**Chapter 12 - What Was Found**

_Elena is standing quietly in the foyer of the boarding house. She can faintly overhear Stefan and Katherine arguing about something in the large drawing room adjacent. She moves closer to the door to listen. Stefan sounds angry and at first she is delighted because it seems like he's finally reacting the way she thinks he should to the bitch that wears her face._

_Then she realizes it's not Katherine he's furious with, it's Damon. He's yelling at her in frustration because he's afraid that Damon has done something impulsive and reckless again. And Stefan doesn't know where he is. Katherine is trying to console him as best she can. Since when has Katherine ever been sympathetic to anyone else? Elena suddenly understands there is a much deeper layer to their complex relationship than she will ever comprehend. Nor does she really want to._

"_I just need to find him. I need to know that he hasn't done anything stupid," she hears him roughly say, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass._

_Elena is confused. Didn't they already find Damon? _

_She steps into the room and the two vampires stop instantly and turn to stare at her._

"_I can help you, Stefan. I know exactly where he is." She has no idea how she knows; she just knows that she does._

* * *

><p>Stefan was walking through the forest near the abandoned quarry in the early morning with Katherine, aimlessly hunting for any trace of his brother as she made calls to her tracker contacts to see if anyone had any leads. His phone buzzed inside his jacket and he curiously pulled it out. It was a text from Elena.<p>

_You're still looking for him?_

_Yes_. Stefan replied succinctly.

It took only about twenty seconds for her to text back. _I know where he is. He's close to the Falls. Look there._

How could she possibly know that? Did Damon call her? He put his phone away without asking and motioned to Katherine to follow him.

They found Damon about ten minutes later. Just as Elena had said he would be, he was sitting under a tree near the base of Mystic Falls, splotches of drying blood here and there on his torn, dirty clothing. His fingers were tangled in his filthy hair, his elbows were braced on both knees and he looked despondent. Obviously he must have heard them approaching, but he didn't open his eyes.

"Damon," Stefan called as he came closer. His brother didn't flinch or look up.

"Damon!"

"Go away, Stefan," he finally replied in a monotone.

Stefan threw himself onto the ground beside him and turned to face him. "Why did you run off?" he asked quietly.

Damon opened his eyes and stared at his little brother. Stefan had never seen so much anguish on his face before. It was heart wrenching to see. Damon looked shattered. He didn't reply.

Stefan tried again, "What's wrong, Damon? Whatever it is, you don't have to go through it alone this time."

His brother raised both brows and gave him an incredulous look. "How can you even ask me that?" His voice cracked and his eyes filled up with tears that threatened to fall.

Stefan was confused. He put his hand on Damon's shoulder. "I don't know what's going on but I do know that she needs you. So pull up your boot straps and get back to her, before I have to kick your butt all the way back there myself."

"She's gone, Stef. I'm not going back." His words sounded so final.

Katherine stepped in front on them both, finally understanding exactly what was going on.

"She woke up, you idiot! She's not dead! She's confused about why you left and she's worried about you, but she's very much alive. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and go to her. Your brother and I have more important things to do than spend any more time searching for your sorry ass."

Damon gaped at her. "She's alive?"

Katherine looked back at him like he was a bit simple. "Yes, I just said that. Man up already and go home."

His face betrayed a momentary glimpse of his immense relief and he gave them both a thankful look as he got to his feet.

* * *

><p>The end-of-day buzzer sounded at 3:00, startling Elena out of her reverie. Even though she'd just gotten out of the hospital yesterday, that dose of Caroline's blood had done wonders to help her feel back to normal. She'd missed enough school already and it was almost time for finals. She couldn't afford to miss any more days. Her senior year was nearly over and right now she truly had no idea what the future would bring. These days she generally had no idea what <em>tomorrow<em> would bring.

She'd recently found out she'd been accepted into the University of Richmond's journalism program in the fall. If she could come up with the tuition, that is, which was a big if at this point. She hadn't even had a chance to tell her friends that news yet. First and foremost, though, she had to successfully complete twelfth grade. Today was Friday and she had promised herself that she'd spend the whole weekend studying, before exams began next week.

Elena grabbed her books, stuffed them into her knapsack and began to walk to the parking lot. She started thinking about that dream she'd had this morning right before she woke up. She'd been so sure she knew where Damon was. How could she possibly know? She couldn't explain it.

She'd been right, too. Stefan hadn't shown up at school today, not that she was expecting him to, but she had received a short text message over the lunch break. It had simply read, _He's OK_.

Could it have something to do with that large dose of her doppelganger blood that she'd recently donated for him? She'd read fictional stories about vampire-human blood bonds before. It seemed pretty far-fetched, but then again she'd learned over the past two years that very little was as unlikely or as uncomplicated as she expected it to be. And she had no real idea what it even meant to be a doppelganger in the first place. She was a supernatural occurrence. All that said to her was that all bets were off.

Elena's heart lifted at the thought of seeing him soon. She was confidant Damon would be waiting for her, either at her car or back at her house. She'd tried to call twice already, but strangely his phone was still off.

He wasn't by her car, as she'd hoped. Nor was he at her house. She frowned as she tossed her knapsack onto the bed. Elena had hoped he'd be as impatient to see her as she was to see him. She checked her phone again. Still no message from him.

This was silly – there was no reason for her to wait around for him to show up. She changed her clothes, freshened her make-up and headed back downstairs. She'd just go to him, then.

* * *

><p>Damon walked out of his bathroom with a towel slung low around his waist, freshly showered and considering a good, long, late afternoon nap. He hadn't had a proper sleep in an actual bed in about six days and his soft blankets were beckoning to him in a hard-to-resist manner.<p>

He'd needed to see Elena. He'd needed to see with his own eyes that she was alive and OK more than he'd ever needed anything before in his entire undead life. So he'd gone to find her. She just hadn't seen him. Damon supposed that was unfair of him, since he knew that she needed to see him, too. But he didn't know what to say to her right now, and he didn't want to be the cause of any more pain, so he'd consoled himself to just watching her from a distance for a few minutes.

His unbeating heart had nearly leapt out of his chest with joy when he'd spotted her among the crowded exodus of students hurrying to get their weekends started. She'd been looking around as she walked alone to her car. Was she looking for him? A wave of guilt came over him for a moment, but he pushed it back down and raced home before she discovered him watching her.

Damon crawled between his crisp, white cotton sheets and buried his face into his soft pillow. He knew there were important things that still needed to be decided and dealt with. He knew there were important conversations that still needed to take place. He had no idea what exactly he was going to say, but, just for now, it could wait. Before long he was sleeping like the dead. Of course.

* * *

><p>Elena quietly opened the front door and stepped into the foyer of the boarding house. She immediately got a queer sense of déjà vu and paused to listen for voices. But the large house was completely silent – the only sound she could hear was the low ticking of the grandfather clock in the drawing room. She couldn't tell if anyone was home.<p>

Softly she crept up the stairs to Damon's room. He probably wasn't here. If he'd been home, he would have heard her and stepped out to greet her by now. He was always so attuned to her presence.

His bedroom door was closed, but not tightly. She pushed it open a few inches and peered inside. Her breath caught in her throat at what she saw – he was curled up on his side in the bed, dark messy hair in stark contrast to his snow white pillow, sound asleep. Elena pushed the door open just wide enough to tiptoe into his room and then shut it softly behind her. Her gaze roamed over his sculpted muscular upper back. He didn't move.

She slipped off her shoes and carefully climbed into the bed beside him. She inhaled deeply as once again she was enveloped by that familiar and calming combination of scents that was Damon. As Elena moved close and tucked one arm around his smoothly toned abdomen, he stiffened. She held her breath as she waited to see what he'd do.

In one fluid motion he rolled over and pulled her tightly against him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. His arms held her snuggly against every contour of his body and he buried his nose in her hair. The fragrance of her strawberry shampoo filled his senses.

"''Lena. Thank God," he breathed.

After a minute she pulled her face back so she could look directly into those beautiful blue eyes.

"Where were you, Damon?"

His breath hitched and he closed his eyes for a second before he finally spoke. "You…" he paused again to gather his voice. "You…died, Elena. Right in front of me. Your heart just stopped."

An expression of shock crossed her features at this revelation, as her memory fluttered to something just beyond reach, faded and fuzzy like a mostly-forgotten dream.

He continued, "I panicked. Simple as that. I didn't wait for anyone to confirm it - I just…I just ran. I couldn't handle the thought of existing in a world without you in it. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you when you opened your eyes." He looked at her guiltily.

She put her hands on each side of his face and leaned in to kiss him briefly, "It's OK. I was just worried about you." She exhaled sharply, "We've both been through one hell of a lot the past couple weeks, haven't we?"

He nodded and held her gaze.

Elena went on, "I still haven't had the chance to finish what I need to tell you."

She saw him flinch at her words and he opened his mouth as if to interrupt her. She pressed one finger against his soft lips. "Don't. Let me finish. You're still expecting me to give you a reason to go and I'd rather give you a reason to stay."

Damon just looked at her. There was that pesky flicker of hope popping up again that he couldn't seem to completely stifle. He didn't know if he could stand to hear what she was going to say next, so he simply shut his eyes and let his eyelids form a shield against her penetrating gaze. He held the breath he didn't need and waited.

"I love you," she said softly.

His eyelids flew open in amazement at the words he'd never dared to dream he would ever hear her confess to him. He'd never thought he'd ever be worthy of such a thing. Sentiments like that were reserved for guys like his brother. Not for guys like Damon. Perhaps his ears had failed him?

Like a simpleton, all he could manage was, "What?"

"I love you, Damon. Why do you look so surprised?" She gave him a huge smile. "Is it really such a shock to you that I could?"

He nodded once and breathed out, "Yeah, it is. I don't…I don't deserve your love, Elena."

She looked at him curiously and raised one eyebrow. "Don't you love me?"

"I do. With everything in me. You know that," he spoke fiercely.

"Good. Now that that's cleared up, there just might be something else I'd rather be doing right now…" she trailed off as she pressed her lips against the side of his neck. She kissed her way up to capture his lips and what started out sweet and loving in no time at all turned into passion and wanting.

They both soon made short work of her clothing and she found herself pinned to the bed beneath him as he slowly worked his way down her body, kissing every inch of skin his lips could reach while she gasped as each new contact made her sizzle with desire.

The first time they had both been in such a needy rush to be together that they hadn't taken the time to truly explore and experience each other the way they wanted. Now, Damon was determined to slow things down a bit and get to know every surface of her gorgeous body, commit every curve to memory and lavish attention on every little part of her. He adored the delectable little noises she made each time his lips and teeth and tongue traveled to areas as yet undiscovered.

For her part, Elena anticipated each new touch of his with shivers of longing. Damon worshipped her body like a golden idol, something she'd never experienced before. When at last they were again joined together as one, he was not hesitant or fearful; he did not treat her like she was fragile, as she had felt with previous lovers. Damon was reverent, but passionate. Tender and gentle at times, then rougher and aggressive when he sensed she wanted more. Like his whole purpose in life was to please her. She had never been with anyone so attuned to exactly what she needed and exactly when she needed it.

She had no idea what the future would bring for either of them, or how long they might have together, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was exactly where she was meant to be.

In each other's arms neither of them would be lost any longer.

**FIN**

* * *

><p><strong>AN **That's it! Thank you SO much for reading! There aren't enough words to thank you all enough for your kind reviews. I truly hope you liked it. This story was my "baby" for a long while and is probably my favourite piece that I've written at this point. Please let me know what you thought of it by leaving a review. I'd really appreciate it!


	13. Epilogue Sequel

**A/N**

Hello readers of _What Was Lost_. Hope you enjoyed the story? I definitely enjoyed writing it!

So much so, that I've started a companion piece (I don't want to say "sequel" as you don't necessarily need to read WWL to enjoy the new story) to it, entitled _Find The River_. It's set 4 years in the future after Elena has graduated university.

Please consider going to to my FF profile by clicking on my name above and there you will find the link to the new story _Find The River_. Chapter one, entitled "Homecoming", just went up today - Sunday, April 15th, 2012.

Please be kind and review. I would love to hear what you think of this one (or of any other stories I've written.)

Thank you so much for reading! You guys make my day and I appreciate you.

Jenn


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